


Bang, Bang, Baby

by TheRegalist



Category: Carmilla (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Detectives, F/F, Other, Police, Supernatural Elements
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-10-27
Updated: 2016-06-03
Packaged: 2018-04-28 10:33:06
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 29,288
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5087347
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheRegalist/pseuds/TheRegalist
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Detective Carmilla Karnstein is damn good at her job and thinks that excuses her from having a partner. Until Laura Hollis rolls into town and screws everything up.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Gay, gay, and gayer

**Author's Note:**

> Okay so some warnings: this is crime drama/comedy so there will be some darker stuff in here. There will be murders, dead bodies, fight scenes, inappropriate things said, and death. There's probably more, but that's all I can think of for now. It's relatively tame, but if that ain't your bag, you've been warned. Also, it will be inaccurate. I know bits and pieces of police procedure, but this is not in anyway a reference for actual police work. 
> 
> Hey guys! So this is literally just dribbles that came out of my head randomly. If you guys like it I'll continue it. If not, I'll move along. Just let me know! And while there is a dash of Danny and Laura in here, it is not the endgame, I promise. Just part of the plot.

“No way.” 

“Carmilla, this is not a discussion,” Danny stated calmly, already having a good idea of where this conversation was going to go. 

“You’re right, it’s not, because I’m telling you to take your partner and shove them up your ass.” 

“Christ, you’re insufferable! You cannot talk to me like that here, and you know it. For fuck’s sake I’m you’re commanding officer and I don’t have an option, you are required to have a partner. Believe me if I could, I’d let you sulk solo until your little heart’s content.”

Carmilla sneered at the giant ginger who was crouched over the desk between them staring her down. Danny’s intimidation tactics hadn’t changed much since they were rookies; they didn’t work on her then and they certainly wouldn’t now. 

“I know you’ve had a rough time sin-“

“Don’t!” Carmilla interjected, her sharp features hardening with anger. “Just…don’t,” she repeated, with a little less venom. She turned her head so she wouldn’t have to see the pitiful look she knew Danny would be donning. 

The redhead took a deep breath and placed her hands on her hips to help settle her frustrations. A cleansing silence filled the oversized closet of an office, as neither party knew how to go about this with the kit gloves it needed; that had never been them, and it never could. 

“You’ve been assigned a partner. She’s a transfer and she’ll be here tomorrow.” 

“She?” 

“Yes, she. You got a problem working with a woman? Cause last I checked you prefer it.” Danny had at least tried to keep that preference into consideration. 

Carmilla rolled her eyes at the cheap shot. 

“You don’t have to like her, you just have to work with her.” 

“And if she doesn’t like me?” Carmilla asked, a few devious plans of sabotage already brewing in her mind. 

“Oh, I know she won’t like you, but that is not my problem, it’s yours.” 

The brunette began flexing her fingers, concentrating on the length of her nails as if they were growing by the second. Carmilla was about as subtle as a firecracker placed in a school bathroom, and that was her way of saying the conversation was over. Danny knew she’d be hearing more about this from the brunette yet. She was not going to get off that easy. 

“Dismissed,” she muttered, the formality being necessary. 

Carmilla huffed as she raised herself from the seat and stalked out of the Captain’s office. Familiar eyes darted, avoiding the detective’s line of sight; she had a reputation as a force to be reckoned with and most chose to keep their distance. It suited her just fine, because she didn’t want much with people. She certainly didn’t want another dipshit partner. 

The brunette dug into her desk for her keys, grasping the metal with desperate need for escape. She fled the station, not bothering to ask permission before her shift was over. Danny owed her.

\-----------------------------------

“We were lucky enough to get remodeled last year, so we have all the modern amenities,” the Captain explained, a soft smile gracing her lips that caused Laura to uncontrollably smile back. 

_Okay, not the worst thing in the world that my new boss is hot._

“That’ll be a nice change from my last precinct,” the girl retorted. 

“I can sympathize. Before the remodel we had a copy machine from the 80s that would spatter ink everywhere like it was possessed.” 

Laura chortled as she followed the redhead from her office out into the bullpen. It was an open set-up with desks and file cabinets as far as the eye could see. There was an impressive amount of movement for midday, but Laura chalked that up to the high profile department; more pressure meant more work. 

“Coffee is there,” Danny said, pointing to a small room off to the right that housed a fridge and some tables. “Files are there.” She gestured to a room that was directly opposite of the break room. “And your partner is here,” Danny said, stopping dead in front of two desks that were pushed together. A woman was casually napping at one of them. Sleeping Beauty had her feet propped up on the desk, and her body slumped down in the chair, a pair of black aviators covering her eyes. 

Laura stared openly, confused by someone taking a nap in the middle of bustling police station. “Is she okay?” the blonde asked, with genuine concern. Unless she had narcolepsy, she was breaking about 15 different rules simultaneously.

Danny snorted, and shrugged as she crossed her arms in front of her. “Your guess is as good as any of ours.” There was somewhat of an adoring smile on the Captain’s face as she regarded the slumbering detective, which was oddly endearing. Laura had never known a commanding officer to be so relaxed in that type of situation. “Karnstein’s got sleeping problems. She grabs the z’s when she can get them,” Danny explained. 

Laura gave her a forced smile and the redhead took note of her stiffness. “Look Carmilla’s rough around the edges, but she’s the best cop I’ve ever seen. She’s grumpy, unorthodox, moody, and a total pain in the ass, but she’s…brilliant.” 

“Her name speaks for itself,” Laura said, hoping that would ease the concern. They learned about the infamous Karnstein legacy in the academy, and the family’s record was like the holy bible of police work. 

“Friendly advice, don’t mention that,” Danny said, with warning in her tone. She clasped Laura’s shoulder gently and smiled. “If you need anything, let me know.” 

“Will do,” Laura said, looking between the Captain and her new partner with an unspoken question of what to do next. 

Danny took the signal and slapped the slumbering officer’s motorcycle boots off the desk and she woke with a startle, nearly falling out of her chair. “Karnstein, meet you new partner, Detective Laura Hollis.” 

“Fuck,” the brunette grumbled, catching her falling head in her hand. Definitely wasn’t the introduction Laura had been expecting. 

“I’ll leave you two to get acquainted,” Danny called over her shoulder, as she walked back to her office with a conceited smile. 

Laura stood awkwardly for a grand total of two minutes as the brunette came back to reality. During their short reprieve the new detective took her new partner’s appearance in. She couldn’t tell if the girl was hung over or just insanely sleep deprived, but the bags under her eyes were an obvious sign of exhaustion. The raccoon look did not take away any of the raw beauty that her features held though. She was striking in almost painful way, and Laura had to commend the bad girl image she was pulling off. If her leather pants and black henley shirt were any tighter to her body she might pop out of them, and Laura wasn’t convinced that would be a bad thing. 

“Nice to meet you,” Laura said, after the silence was too long for her liking. She placed her messenger bag on the empty desk that would be her new home base. When there was no response from the brunette, who had yet to fully open her eyes, the blonde took a different approach. “So can I expect this sort of greeting every morning or is this just the result of an unfortunate evening?” 

Carmilla made a sound that barely resembled a laugh. “I like to keep expectations low,” she said, in a gravely voice that could belong to a jazz singer in another life. 

“Noted.” Laura pulled her notebooks from her bag and flipped opened to the first blank page, jotting down some of her thoughts. It was clear to her that her new partner was not going to be opening up the welcome wagon in any form, so she thought it best to get herself situated. 

“What are you doing?” 

The blonde gazed up to see the brunette was studying her intently. _Ok, maybe she was just tired?_

“Writing,” Laura answered. 

“It’s five minutes into your first shift, what on Earth could you be writing?” 

Laura smiled back at her. “I like taking notes.” 

“Notes?” she asked, as if it was the most bizarre thing she had ever heard.

“Yes, notes.” 

“On what? The angle the sun hits the office?” 

Laura laughed, and Carmilla’s serious gaze never broke. 

“I used to be somewhat of a journalist, and the affinity for writing everything down never left me,” the blonde explained, shrugging her shoulders. The raven-haired detective looked as if she was about to say something, but Danny’s booming voice killed any chance of that. 

“Karnstein, Hollis, you’ve got a case.” 

“So much for introductions,” Carmilla said, rising up out of her chair. Laura took her lead and followed, making sure to grab her smaller notebook and a pencil. 

“What do we got?” the brunette asked. Laura noticed that any residue of sleep was gone, as the seasoned detective instantly became alert and focused. 

“Looks like a suicide,” Danny said. “223 Foxcatcher Court.” 

Carmilla nodded to the Captain as she made her way out of the office and toward the parking garage. She had barely stepped foot on the pavement before she heard the tiny one’s voice. 

“So, I take it you drive?” Laura asked. She had a feeling that her partner was not used to having a partner, and that was going to be a problem. 

“That’d be an accurate assumption Cupcake.” 

The brunette picked up her pace and the girl with tiny legs had a hard time following because of the blue pencil skirt she had chosen to wear on her first day. The headlights of a black Chevy lit up, and Carmilla slid into the driver’s seat of the unmarked police vehicle. Laura was barely in the door of the car before the brunette was hitting the gas. 

“Impatient much?” Laura barked at the brunette. 

Carmilla grinned, but kept her eyes trained on the road. It was a good thing too because she powered the car forward with a speed that threatened to break the sound barrier. Laura strapped herself in the front seat as best she could and hung on for dear life. 

“Okay, you’re an aggressive driver, got it. Now can you please slow down?” Laura begged, as the brunette continued to ignore her. _Lawrence really wasn’t lying about her being a pain in the ass._

“Look Creampuff, lets get some things straight. I don’t need a partner, and I certainly don’t need a backseat driver.” 

“And I don’t need to die before 30,” Laura retorted. 

“Relax, I’ve never even gotten a speeding ticket.” 

“That’s easy enough when your parents are basically the police.” 

The blonde blanched as soon as the words were out of her mouth. _So much for not bringing up the family name._

“Ah, so you do know who I am. I was wondering when that was going to come up,” Carmilla said, a rather satisfied grin coming over her face. 

“I don’t really care what your last name is, just please slow down.” 

The cruiser fell by about 20 mph’s and Laura felt like she could breathe once again. She straightened up in her seat as the image of death faded from her vision. 

“I’m not my parents,” Carmilla said, as if she were proving something to herself. Before Laura could respond they pulled onto the crime scene. The brunette slammed the car into park and practically fled from her. 

“Holy Hogwarts,” Laura released out into the empty cab. It would appear her new partner was a giant pill to swallow. _I seriously hope this is worth it._

The new detective took a deep breath before climbing out of the car and following the brunette across the yellow tape. Two other cruisers were parked outside a rancher that was smack dab in the middle of a cul-de-sac of other similar looking homes. Silas wasn’t exactly suburbia, but the recent influx of people had caused more developments to sprout up. It was like weeds coming through sidewalks; it didn’t look right and was not supposed to be there. 

They followed the trail of uniforms into the normal looking home that was now swarming with police making their way through the living room and up to the second floor. Flashes went off in their faces from the pictures being taken as they stepped into the bedroom where the body was. 

A teenage boy who couldn’t have been more than fourteen was hanging from a noose in his closet. He was wearing a button-up and dress pants as if he had just come from a dance. The sight of the lifeless body swinging made Laura’s breath catch in her throat, but only for a moment. In her two years of homicide, she had seen plenty of dead bodies, but the kids always got her. 

“Captain didn’t mention it was a kid,” she said. 

Carmilla didn’t turn around and address her comment. Instead she grabbed a pair of gloves from the tech who was situated under the body and began her own examination. 

“How long has he been dead?” Carmilla asked. She had stepped up onto a shoe rack to make herself level with his hanging body, her eyes tracing over the rope. 

Laura immediately took out her notebook. It was obvious the brunette was going to take the lead and she was more than okay with that. She knew it would take awhile for them to find a rhythm together, and she had enough patience to let things find their way because her new partner certainly didn’t. 

“Maybe two hours. Parents found him not long after,” the tech answered. 

The brunette nodded at the information, but didn’t bother to gaze at the man speaking to her. She was too intently focused on what she was doing. 

“Pretty clean suicide. He left a note and everything. No sign of foul play.” 

“Depends on your definition of that,” Laura retorted, as she continued to jot some notes down with her pencil. 

Both Carmilla and the tech turned to stare at her as if she had just sprouted Hitler’s Nazi Oath to them. 

“What do you mean?” Carmilla asked. 

“It may have been suicide, but it was influenced by outside parties.” 

“How do you know that?” the tech asked, baffled. 

Laura blew her bangs out her face as she lifted her head from her writing. “He was gay, and his parents were cruel about it,” she said, as if it were obvious. 

The man and her new partner continued to gawk at her as if she had a third eye. Well, Carmilla didn’t really gawk so much as focus on her with this really sexily fixated face that did weird things to her inside, but still the point was clear. 

“Where did you get that?” Carmilla asked, stepping down and out of the closet to regard the blonde with curiosity. 

Laura used her pencil as if it were a pointer gesturing around the room in her explanation. “Not to follow stereotypes but there’s a stack of musical movies by the TV, tap and dance shoes in the closet, and a poster of one direction on the wall. If that weren’t enough the staged Playboys on his desk are a good tip off. No teenage boy has magazines with the Internet, and no kid leaves his porn stash out in the open, unless of course his parents are encouraging it as some kind of straight therapy.” 

“And his parents?” the tech asked. 

“Religious symbols throughout the house, and a pamphlet about a ‘Christian rehabilitation camp for youths’ was sitting on the end table when we walked in. Doesn’t take a genius to put two together. He dressed himself, not wanting to cause his family any more embarrassment than he already felt he had. My guess is he couldn’t live with disappointing them, and thought he’d make it easier for everyone. As I said, depends on your definition of foul play because I for one think shaming your child for something as innate as breathing to such a point of self-loathing is warrant enough for partial blame.” 

The man’s jaw hung from his face and Carmilla stared at her mystified. 

“You really do have a photographic memory, don’t you?” the brunette stated more than asked. 

“How do you know about that?” Laura asked, narrowing her vision at the girl.

“You’re not the only one who does their research.” 

“You pulled my file?” 

“I inquired into your background. Had to make sure I wasn’t getting dealt some kind of two-bit cop for a partner, Cutie.” 

“What is with the nicknames?” Laura finally asked. They were patronizing and weirdly gratifying. 

“It’s kind of my thing Sundance.” Carmilla shrugged her shoulders as she began to remove her gloves. “Where are the parents?” the brunette asked. 

“Downstairs, giving statements,” the tech informed them. The brunette’s gaze lingered on the blonde for a moment, and Laura felt like a squirrel being stalked by a lion. She gulped and the brunette smiled, then she left the room without any warning. Laura felt like banging her head against a wall. Instead, she smiled her thanks at the helpful tech and followed her partner down the stairs. 

They walked into a kitchen where a hysterical mother and stoic father were speaking with two uniforms. “He was such a sweet boy,” the mother cried, as she held onto what had to be a baby picture of her son. “There was nothing that would have pushed him to this,” the father said. 

“Except for homophobic bible-thumping parents,” Carmilla interjected. The Mother’s tears ceased, and the father’s face turned red with rage. The pregnant pause in grieving was unsettling for everyone. 

“Excuse me?” the father said.

“I’ve seen a lot of shit in my days, but hypocrisy never ceases to astound me,” Carmilla replied. 

Laura’s eyes blew wide and her face turned surprised as she stared at her partner, baffled. She knew it was unprofessional and candid to offer your personal opinion on the matter but damn if she didn’t wish she had the gonads to say something like that to those people. Even if they were genuinely devastated at the lost of their son, they had liked the idea of him when he was alive, not who he really was. She had never seen an officer say something so blatantly disrespectful, and Carmilla didn’t look like she gave one fuck about it. Girl had some swagger. 

“How dare you come into our home and make such implications,” the man bellowed. He was enraged by the mere suggestion of his son being gay, and Laura could only wonder what that poor boy’s home life must have been like. 

“He’s dead and you’re still more concerned about your reputation. I think that’s about all I need to know,” Carmilla replied, not even bothering to look at the man once. Laura watched as the situation escalated, his grief and pride breaking through his features only to be drowned out by the woman’s sobs. The brunette said something to the two uniforms that Laura didn’t catch, as she was too busy waiting for some eruption from the boy’s father. It didn’t come though. 

“I think that’s all we’ll need,” Carmilla said, directing her gaze at Laura in a questioning manner. _Oh so now we care about how I feel?_

“What we have is sufficient,” Laura said. 

Carmilla nodded her agreement and turned to walk back for the front door. She got about two steps before she stopped and turned back around. 

“If you take anything from this, let it be that love should never have limitations, especially not from parents.” The brunette stared directly into the old man’s eyes, his graying temples furrowed as he stared back into her gaze. The man turned away from her, stepping out his back door, her gaze being too honest for him. 

Carmilla’s face turned almost pitiful as she watched him walk away. She offered the woman a look of sympathy before she left. Laura followed, like the puppy dog this woman was turning her into. They weren’t in the car for more than a minute before Laura’s self-control wavered. 

“You know you could get in serious trouble for that right?” 

The brunette laughed a humorless laugh. “We’re the police, we are trouble.” 

“Actually we’re supposed to be the opposite.” 

“Oh come on Dollbaby. I know you don’t actually believe that?” 

“I do.” 

“Look at it however you want, but the truth is we deal with the worst the human race has to offer on a daily basis. To beat them you’ve got to join them, just don’t go the whole way down the rabbit hole.” 

“You’re full of wisdom aren’t you?” Laura said, her condescending tone surprising herself. 

Carmilla didn’t respond to her, and continued to pretend like she was actually paying attention to the road. 

“Why were we called?” 

“What?” Carmilla asked, thrown by the randomness of that question. 

“I mean we’re major crime division. A simple suicide is homicide’s case, why were we called?” 

“Dad’s a preacher of one of the local born again congregations. Has a following of half the town. High profile case.”

“So because he is a church celebrity we get called in?” 

“Bullshit politics,” Carmilla said, with a shrug of her shoulders. 

“Fuck people,” Laura muttered under her breath. That got the brunette’s attention. Apparently Carmilla had bat hearing. 

“I wouldn’t have taken you for a member of the gay bleeding heart committee.” 

“Then you would have taken me wrong,” Laura snapped. She was about done with Carmilla’s assumptions about her for the day. Resigned from making any headway with her partner, the blonde buried her nose in her notebook and ignored the brunette the rest of the ride back to the station. 

“And?” Danny prompted when she saw the two detectives walking back in the office without more than an hour passing. 

“We’ll take a second look when the evidence gets booked, but it was clean. Einstein back here pointed out that the kid was gay, and held in the closet, looks like he killed himself from shame but nothing to prove it,” Carmilla informed. Laura was a bit surprised that her partner actually gave her credit, even if it was in an unflattering, sarcastic way. 

Danny whistled long and low, shaking her head in disbelief. “Fuck people.” 

“That’s what I said,” Laura replied, and the redhead smiled at her. 

“Am I going to get a complaint from the parents?” Danny asked, directing her gaze at Carmilla. 

The brunette grinned mischievously, clearly pleased with herself. “Bet your ass.” 

Danny let her head slump onto the frame of her door as the two detectives walked back to their desks. Laura went for her new assigned seat while the brunette disappeared into the coffee haven. Laura started the write-up they would need to turn in from their examination and she felt the tall ginger’s presence behind her. 

“You’re actually doing the paperwork?” Danny asked, mystified and overjoyed. 

Laura laughed. “Yes, isn’t that what I’m supposed to be doing?” 

“Yes! Do not stop! I’m just used to Karnstein who does not know how a computer functions. I usually just get post-its with summaries from her.” 

“Somehow that does not shock me.” 

“You must be catching on to Carmilla’s charms,” Danny said. 

Laura swiveled around in her chair to stare openly at her. “Charms? Is that what you guys are calling it?” 

Danny snorted, and Laura felt a bit smug that she got her boss to laugh. Danny was even cuter when she laughed, if that were possible. _Stop it. She’s your fucking boss. Get ahold of yourself Hollis._

“Okay, so charming is a relative word.” 

Laura leaned back in her chair sizing her boss up. She was curious about this, and that was never a good thing. Laura loved a good mystery, it was part of why she was a detective, but she had a problem. The problem being she would get obsessed with finding the answers of what was wracking her brain, consequences be damned. In her few years on the force she had to calm that side of her down, mostly because they didn’t always get their man and Laura had to learn to be okay with that (easier said than done). In her younger years her determination had gotten her in trouble many a times. But simple things, like the odd relationship of the captain and a snarky detective were puzzling in an oh-so enticingly safe way. 

“What is that look in your eyes Hollis?” Danny asked. Her face was sweetly engaging. A few of her red hairs that had come lose from her ponytail were dangling in her face.

“Nothing,” Laura replied, sucking her bottom lip into her mouth and chewing. 

She could have sworn her Captain’s face turned a brighter shade of red. Laura couldn’t be sure though because Carmilla reappeared out of nowhere and ruined it all. 

“Stop flirting with the newbie.” Danny’s head snapped to the brunette. If the captain’s eyes could shoot fire Carmilla would have been ablaze. Carmilla seemed unbothered by her superior’s murderous glare though, as she took a seat in her chair and ignored her. _Curious_ , Laura thought. It was just all so peculiar to her. 

Danny cleared her throat, shot Carmilla another look, and left them without another word. Laura was disappointed at being left alone with her grumpy partner once again. She started typing mindlessly until her eyes caught sight of something. A paper cup filled with steaming liquid sat on the cusp of her desk, right near where it connected with the brunette’s. She glanced up at Carmilla to see that she was gulping from an identical looking cup while pushing buttons on her keyboard, probably looking at porn if she had to guess. 

“Did you get that for me?” Laura asked, pointing to the mysterious drink. 

Carmilla simply nodded. The blonde cautiously picked the drink up and sniffed. It was hot chocolate, her favorite. _How on Earth would she have known that?_ Laura sipped delicately from the cup, and she was mad that it was delicious. Normally she would say thank you, but her brain and filter weren’t cooperating when it came to Carmilla and she just blurted out, “How did you know I prefer this to coffee?” 

The brunette stopped her menial task, and her lips curled up at the ends. She put her own cup down on her desk and adjusted her seat so that she was directly facing Laura. She was setting the stage, making a show, and Laura was wondering what was going to come out of her mouth next. 

“You have an emergency chocolate bar in your bag, and a bag of Hershey kisses was one of the first things you stuffed in your top desk drawer. Your notebook had a grocery list and there were enough chocolate products on it to tip me off that you had an addiction, and no sign of coffee.” 

Carmilla was smug, and Laura was stunned. She gaped like a fish at the girl wondering how in the two hours they had known each other Carmilla had figured all of that out. She thought she hadn’t been paying attention. 

“I’m a detective for a reason, and it has nothing to do with my parents. You’re not the only one with…gifts,” Carmilla said, though she didn’t look at her. 

The reference to her memory as being anything but annoying bothered Laura. Sure, it had gotten her far, but most didn’t realize the burden that was not being able to forget. She was willing to overlook that, because it would appear her partner was more equipped for the job than she realized. 

“Thank you,” Laura said, sincerely as she took another long sip of the delicious treat. 

Perhaps her new partner wasn’t going to be so bad after all. 

\----------------------------------------

“Laura, let me introduce you to the gang,” Danny said, gesturing to a circular table with her beer bottle. “This is LaF, Perry, and JP.” Three very pleasant looking people smiled back at her and she returned the gesture. Danny pulled a stool out for her, and Laura took it. 

“You must be the new detective we’ve heard so much,” the one called LaF said. Danny elbowed them in an unsubtle manner. It made Laura laugh; there was a good chance her boss found her cute too after all. 

“That would be me,” Laura said, taking a sip from her rum and coke. 

“I’m Perry. I work in dispatch.” The girl had fire red hair that rivaled Danny’s and a 100-watt smile that was both genuine and strained. 

“LaF, and I work in the lab.” Their hair was also Red. Laura wondered if there was something in the water at Silas to produce so many redheads. 

“They’re like a mad scientist,” Danny said, smiling at them as she took a drink. Laura noted the use of pronouns and furrowed it away. 

“And this is JP,” Laf said, pointing to an amicable fellow who was grinning ear to ear. He was drinking a green concoction from a martini glass. 

“I work in IT,” JP filled in. 

“He’s the real genius,” Laf said. 

“Is that so?” Laura asked. 

“While I believe a person’s intelligence can never be truly measured, the common reference system puts me in the genius ranking,” JP said. Laura felt as if she were listening to a British robot speak. 

“Wow,” Laura said. Her mouth turned into a giant O-shape. 

They all laughed at that. It was clearly a common reaction when people met JP. He was an adorably awkward person. 

After introductions the conversation flowed easily between the old friends and their new acquaintance. Laura was happy with her decision to come out. At first she had been hesitant when Danny propositioned her for drinks, but when she explained it was with a group she decided it wouldn’t be the worst thing to try to make some new friends. 

Flicker was a well-known cop bar in the area that Laura had heard murmurs about. If that weren’t enough the high-top tables, solid oak bar, and dartboards were complimented by enough police paraphernalia to do the job. It was a great hole in the wall where busted down officers could go to drink their sorrows away. Also they made a mean cheeseburger, and Laura had a weak spot when it came to junk food. 

She ordered a burger and another drink, and the rest of the gang got their own munchies. Two rounds and a very full tummy later they had warmed up to one another enough for the big questions to be asked. 

“So I heard you got Karnstein,” LaF said, in an inquisitive tone. 

Laura smiled politely and nodded. “Yeah, she’s my partner.” 

“Lucky you,” LaF said. The sarcasm was evident. 

“Watch it,” Danny muttered, her lips being wrapped around her third beer as she nearly whispered it. Again Laura’s radar of a juicy story pinged. Danny wanted her to back off, but she didn’t want the whole table to hear it. 

“Well, at least you have a partner who is efficient,” Perry chirped. The redhead was a bubbly positive little thing. Laura found that she was the ying to LaF’s yang. She wondered if they were a thing, or if she was just dreaming up the sexual tension. 

“She had a 76% success rate, which would put her in the genius ranking of detective work,” JP stated. 

Those were some impressive statistics. Laura considered the possibility of leather bringing luck, because if that were the case Carmilla was a fucking leprechaun.   
“Alright, all this talk about work has killed my buzz. I’m out,” Danny declared, rising from her chair. She glanced down to Laura, “can I walk you home?” 

The brown haired girl was delighted by the idea. It would give her some time to pick Danny’s brain about Carmilla, and it never hurt to be within ten feet of a pretty girl.

Laura bid the folks who had kept her in good company all evening farewell with the promise of joining them again soon. LaF even invited her for a tour of the crime labs if she were interested; the jury was still out on that one. Danny held the door open for her as they stepped out into the brisk night air. Laura had noted more than once Danny’s manners; she was old-fashioned in that way. The term chivalrous even came to mind, but Laura reminded herself they had only known each other for a few days, and she most certainly could not have a thing with her boss. 

No matter how cute she was. 

They strolled down Parker Avenue in no particular direction. Laura lived about five blocks over, but that somehow became irrelevant to her in the presence of Danny Lawrence. Walking around aimlessly became appealing if that tall girl was going to be there. Laura made sure to keep her distance as a precaution though, and Danny had put her hands in her pockets to prevent any unwarranted touching. 

“How are you liking Silas so far?” Danny asked. 

“It’s…interesting.” Danny laughed loudly and Laura smiled. “Okay, so this place is a bit strange.”

“Yeah, we’re famous for that.” 

Laura had done little research about the place she was moving to outside of the police department. It was one of the most active and infamous ones. Getting a job there was next to impossible, so when the offer came she jumped. What she hadn’t realized was part of the reason it was buzzing like a beehive was the reputation that the place was a hotbed of supernatural activity; it brought out the crazies. And as it turned out that was there department’s main operative, hence the name “major crimes.” Laura had wondered what that meant. 

“Have you gotten your palm read yet?” Danny asked, her smile mocking Laura’s obvious weariness of the subject. 

“No, and I don’t plan on it!” 

“Oh come on. You have to! It’s like a Silas initiation. The first time I did the woman said I would marry an NBA star and have six children.” 

Laura snorted. “I guess there’s still hope for that,” she teased. 

“As if. First off, I would be the basketball player. I mean, look at me.” Danny gestured to her obvious height advantage and Laura giggled. “And six kids? You’ll be lucky if you ever get one out of me.” Danny rolled her eyes dramatically. 

“Oh come on. I could see you as a Mom. You run our butts in the office, and there’s not much of a difference between cops and toddlers.” Danny laughed at her joke and nodded her agreement. “There’s still time to find Prince Charming.” 

Danny’s face turned a bright shade of red again. Laura liked how it matched her hair color. She had her suspicions that her Captain was indeed not straight, but she never liked to assume. Saying such a heteronormative thing wasn’t like her though. Laura was merely trying to get the answer to her question without actually asking it. 

The captain rubbed at the back of her neck with her right hand. A nervous gesture she was prone to, as Laura had observed in the past few days. “I mean it could always be a princess,” Danny said. There was a bit of anxiety in her voice and Laura wanted to squash it all away. 

“For me too.” 

Danny’s eyes blew wide. The insinuated disbelief was something Laura was quite familiar with. 

“What? I know I’m not the posture child for lesbians, but I’m pretty gay,” Laura said. 

“Yeah?” 

Laura nodded. 

“Well aren’t we a couple of queer gal pals.” 

The tiny brunette laughed so hard that she couldn’t breathe and Danny chuckled along with her. Their laughter distracted them for a bit, until Laura realized they were standing outside of her building. Danny turned to her and looked up at the gray brick exterior of her home. 

“I read your file. It had your address in it,” the redhead explained. “I promise I’m not stalking you, I just get these perks as a commanding officer.” 

Laura shrugged her shoulders in response. “I figured as much. You’re quick. “ 

“Gotta be with the job I have,” Danny grumbled. 

“I would bet. You’re awful young to be such a high-ranking officer.” Laura heard her voice and wanted to roll her eyes at herself. _Stop flirting, idiot._

“You caught that did you?” From the sheepish look that crossed the tall girl’s face Laura took that her boss was self-conscious about her position. Danny had struck her as the modest and humble type, and perhaps she wasn’t entirely convinced that she could do the job. 

“Hey,” Laura said, bumping the girl’s arm with her hand. “It just means you’re good at what you do. Nothing wrong with that.” 

Her kind words seemed to reassure the redhead’s doubts, and she smiled at Laura. It wasn’t as bright, but it was more genuine. Like she was saying thank you. Gosh, she was pretty. 

“You’re alright Hollis,” Danny said. A not so innocent smile spread across her face. 

“You’re not so bad yourself,” Laura replied. She bit her bottom lip. 

Now they were just shamelessly flirting with each other. It was okay though. Laura reminded herself there was no harm in that, just so long as they didn’t wind up tangled together upstairs in her bed. Even if that option was really, really appealing. 

“Well, I should probably go,” Danny said, and Laura could tell from the look in her eyes that was the last thing she wanted to be doing. 

“Yeah, it’s late. And I have a hard-ass for a boss,” Laura teased. 

“Gee thanks,” Danny said, rolling her eyes. 

They both giggled at one another. Laura made her way up the five cement steps that led to the front of her building. Danny stood at the bottom of the stoop, waiting for her to get in. She really was a gentleman, or gentalwom-an…whatever. Laura unlocked her front door and held it open when a thought hit her. 

“Hey,” she said, preventing the redhead from walking away. Danny gazed back up at her expectantly, waiting for what she had to say. 

“I know this is kind of a weird request, but could you not spread the whole being gay thing? I mean…I’m not in the closet or anything. I just don’t like everyone knowing my business.” 

Danny shook her head in an understanding manner. 

“No, yeah, I getcha Hollis. I don’t go spreading it myself, but if you’re worried about tolerance, don’t. Most of the folks at Silas or queer one way or another.” 

“You mean LaF and Perry….?” She let the question hang in the air. Danny smiled at her. 

“You don’t miss much, do you?” Danny asked, with a pleased grin. 

“It’s my job not to. Thanks for understanding. It just becomes a hassle sometimes and it’s hard enough being new. And besides, I don’t want to give Carmilla any more ammo.” 

“Karnstein?” Danny’s brow scrunched up at that. “You don’t need to worry about her.” 

“What do you mean?” Laura asked. Seeing as how her snarky partner tormented her about every little thing it was only natural that her being gay would be prime material for vagina jokes. 

“Isn’t it obvious? Carmilla’s gay.” 

Laura felt any semblance of understanding that she had about her partner fade away into the abyss.


	2. For The Love Of Socrates

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yoooo....Happy Thanksgiving!!!!!!!!!!! :DD

Detective Carmilla Karnstein rolls into work at half past eight. She’s thirty minutes late, but from the way she struts into the office anyone would think she’s right on time. The familiar outfit of leather pants and black aviators would normally appear tacky, but on a woman who exudes a natural confidence that is borderline arrogant, it’s a work of art. 

Her hips swing with exceptional swagger, and her charming scowl is surprisingly not masking the unrefined beauty of her face as she makes her way to the fifth floor. 

The overstuffed office chair that she had bought herself, when she realized she was going to be sleeping at her desk more than in her own bed, was beckoning for her to come to it like a lost lover. It’s only when she gets settled into her humble abode, feet propped up on her desk and body slumped into an optimum napping position, is her dream of a morning snooze shattered. 

“Good morning.” Greetings should never be said in such a high-pitched voice, especially not so early in the morning. 

Carmilla frowned. That’s right. She had a partner now who sat three feet away from her. How convenient. 

“Morning Sundance,” Carmilla mumbled. 

The brunette snuggled deeper down into the worn fabric of her chair. Her necessary quota for social interaction was met for the day. To her surprise, Laura didn’t say anything else which was new. Usually Carmilla can’t get her to shut-up for more than a ten-minute period, and that always involves food. 

Curious at this newfound development Carmilla’s sneakily peaks from underneath her glasses at the blonde only to find that Laura is staring at her. And not in a cute or caring way, but in a borderline frightening manner. She’s gazing at Carmilla as if she is some puzzle she’s trying to solve and it makes Carmilla shiver. 

Detective Karnstein decides that it must just be another one of her partner’s quirks. Determined to nap she closes her eyes once again. Except this time the image of Laura’s brown eyes on her is all she can see and it infuriates her. When Carmilla opens her eyes again Laura is still staring. 

“I’m going to get some coffee,” the brunette mumbles, sitting up from her chair and stalking off to the little alcove.   
Captain Danny Lawerence had had a seriously crap morning. First she awoke to what she thought was the sound of rain, but was indeed her entire ceiling leaking. Some asshole on the floor above her had overrun his sink for 15 minutes – who the fuck forgets about running water for that long? There was a cleanup crew at her house now that had informed her that it would take two days for them to reverse the water damage. That meant two days on her office couch or a hotel, but what the hell was the point in that since she practically lived at the Silas Police Department. If that weren’t enough the commissioner was on her like white on rice about the low number of closed cases the department had. It wasn’t her fault that you couldn’t solve a ghost burglary or a fucking vampire mugging. 

Thoroughly fed up with the day before it even began the redhead decided she needed a cup of the crappy coffee the department so generously provided. 

The coffee wasn’t even finished brewing when Carmilla stormed into the break room. Her motorcycle boots were thundering with a vengeance and Danny wanted to stick her head in the microwave. 

“To what do I owe the pleasure?” Danny asked. 

Carmilla leaned back against the cabinets, crossed her arms, and gave the redhead a pointed look. “Why does Hollis keep staring at me?” 

“What are you talking about?” Danny asked half paying attention. She took the pot of fresh brewed coffee and poured it into her mug mindlessly. It was too early for another one of Carmilla’s bitching sessions. The only thing saving the brunette was that Carmilla had the highest number of closed cases in the department. Danny considered herself a master at pretending to listen to Karnstein’s bullshit while she was really thinking of better things, but this morning she just didn’t have the energy. 

The brunette’s brown orbs widened and she nodded her head. Danny looked behind her to see that Laura was gawking at them openly through the break room windows. 

“Wow.” Okay, Laura was definitely staring. 

“Tell me about it. She’s been doing that since I got here. Do I have a fucking zit on my face or something?” Carmilla hissed. 

Danny shook her head. “No Carmilla, because the world is cruel and you could never have a zit.” The redhead patted herself on the back for her own mental slap at the universe for making the dark-haired asshole too near perfect. She added three packs of sweetner to her coffee and a dash of the awful powdered cream. 

“Real fucking funny Lawerence,” Carmilla retorted. “I’m serious. I can’t deal with this. It’s like when those paintings’ eyes follow you.” The brunette took a few steps forward and Laura’s eyes followed, then she took a few back and hid behind Danny’s giant form. “It’s fucking creepy.” 

“It’s weird. I’ll give you that.” Danny took a sip of her coffee and directed her gaze back over to Laura. The blonde seemed to realize they had caught onto her peeping tom ways and jumped back to typing on her computer. 

“Exactly!” 

“Maybe she likes you,” Danny offered, with a shrug and menacing smile. The darker side of her was enjoying the brunette’s misery a bit, she kind of deserved it for all the shit she dished out. Carmilla rolled her eyes so hard she was shocked that it didn’t give her a seizure. 

“Fuck you. What is this elementary school? Last I checked I did not pull Hollis’ hair and spit in her milk.” 

“Sheesh is that what you did to girls you liked? How did you ever get a date?” 

Carmilla gestured to her body and Danny just nodded her head. “Right.” 

Danny considered the possibilities in her head. Laura had seemed to be relatively chill, and cool in her own dorky way. Truth be told, Danny was kind of getting a crush on the newbie. The whole staring thing seemed out of character for her. “I don’t know. Did you say something?” 

“Uh yeah, I’m not a mute.” 

“Did you insult her?” 

“Of course.” Danny snorted. At least the girl was honest. 

“She’s doing it again!” Carmilla pointed to Laura, who was trying to give them a not so subtle side-eye. 

“Calm yourself. It’s not like she’s plotting your murder, although who would blame her. She’s lasted a whole week as your partner.” 

“Keep cracking jokes and I’m going to crack your head,” Carmilla seethed. 

Danny chuckled. 

“I just don’t understand what would make her-“ Danny couldn’t finish her last sentence. Like a lightning strike the memory of Friday night flashed in her mind. 

“Make her…” Carmilla was glaring at her expectantly. 

Well there was really no way of escaping this one. 

“I may or may not have told her that you’re gay,” Danny rushed out in one long breath. Then she tore off for her office with her crappy coffee cackling the whole way and ignoring the brunette’s yelling.

Perhaps it wasn’t such a crap morning.

\---------------------------

Carmilla was googling the signs of stalkers while Laura was scribbling in her notebook, peering up at the brunette every few minutes, when Danny announced they had another case. This one was on the outskirts of town, which meant a thirty-minute drive for the dream team. Normally that wouldn’t bother Carmilla, but normally she didn’t have her goo-goo eyed partner to drag along. 

They weren’t in the car for more than five minutes before the brunette felt the tiny one’s stare burning into the side of her face. 

“For the love of God you’ve got to stop doing that!” Carmilla snapped. 

Laura suddenly became very interested in her shoes, averting her head to the ground in shame. Carmilla thought it was earned after she was forced to endure that morning. She heard what sounded like the faint mumblings of a “sorry” from the girl, but she couldn’t be sure. 

People by nature tended to be judgmental. Carmilla knew this well from her upbringing. As time had passed and it became evident that she was not going to fit the mold her parents so graciously laid out for her, people had gotten ugly. After a minor period of self-hatred, the brunette had learned to stop caring, about pretty much everything. In particular what people thought of her -- what she was supposed to be, and what she wasn’t. It was her life to live, not theirs. 

It wasn’t an easy lesson by any means, but it was an invaluable one. It was the birth of the infamous cavalier attitude she was so well known for. 

What was plaguing the brunette was that she did care this time. She seemed to care for some reason what her partner thought about her sexuality. And that bothered her more than anything else, because why was Laura Hollis any different? 

“I’m gay, not a wild peacock,” Carmilla blurted out. Subtlety had never been an art form she practiced. Frankly, she found it to be a waste of time. 

Laura’s head shot up, the eyes once again trained on her. Carmilla let out a sigh. She had just opened the floor for a discussion. Christ.

“I never said-“

“Danny told me she blabbed. Either you’ve never seen a lesbian in her natural habitat or I’d better have a serious skin disease going on.” 

“What?” Laura sputtered. “I’ve seen a lesbian! Actually, I’ve seen a lot becau-“

“And don’t think for a second I’m about to pretend to be something I’m not for the sake of your innocence or whatever,” Carmilla interjected, not bothering to listen to Laura. She was suddenly thrown back to her youth when it felt like she was a fucking outcast for something that she had no control over. 

“Carmilla I don’t-“

“If you don’t like it you can go find yourself another partner. Hell, get another partner anyway. You are not about to shove me back into the closet that I was never in. And another thing I am –“

“For the love of gummy bears, I’M GAY!” Laura shouted at the top of her lungs. 

The car came to a resounding stop that flung both of its occupants forward. Carmilla’s chest collided with the steering wheel, and Laura’s head came within a millimeter of the windshield as she screamed “fuck” at the top of her lungs. 

“You’re what?” Carmilla shrieked, jerking to face her with wide eyes. 

Laura swallowed her uterus back down her throat and then replied, “Gay you Motherfuc..bad person! Holy Hogwarts I think my seatbelt is lodged into my sternum.” 

Sexuality seemed unimportant to Laura now that she realized Carmilla was seriously the worst driver in existence. As the petite blonde tried to gain her bearings the brunette sat still, hands perched on the wheel trying to process what she had just heard. Laura was….gay?

“I’m an asshole now aren’t I?” Carmilla said, turning her gaze out to the road in front of them. 

“Yep,” Laura replied, matter of factly. 

The brunette nodded, lifted her foot from the break, and accepted her current status of the biggest jackass in Silas. 

\--------------------------

Beer came out of Danny’s nose as Carmilla recited the tale of how she discovered her partner was queer earlier that day. She was more animated than the redhead had seen her in years as she flailed about the apartment in outrage. 

“I mean really? You couldn’t give me a heads up that she was even the slightest bit gay?” Carmilla growled. 

The brunette slumped next to the redhead on the leather sofa, freshly popped beer in hand along with a scowl. 

“I didn’t know!” Danny exclaimed. “Not like I saw it coming.” 

“She’s just so…”

“Innocent?” Danny supplied. 

Carmilla nodded as she took a swig from her bottle. 

“Not that lesbians can’t be innocent I guess, but yeah.” 

The redhead’s lips curled around the bottle as she took another long drink. It was a regular Monday night. The Captain and lead Detective took some time away from the masses to unwind. It was usually in the form of take-out, way too much beer, and occasionally one of them passing out on the couch. 

Much to Carmilla’s dismay she knew it was Lawrence’s way of checking in on her. One Monday she had just shown up out of the blue with a twelve pack and a stack of cards. It had become their tradition ever since. Most weren’t privy to the two’s close relationship, but to be fair most of the time the officers barely acknowledge it themselves. They had a weird love/hate relationship that was too complicated for most to understand, including each other. 

“So how was the rest of the trip after you put your foot in your mouth?” Danny asked with a smug smile. 

Carmilla glared at her. “Another one of those batty woman swearing that ghosts were stealing her dentures and simultaneously murdering the raccoon population. I swear this town is full of nuts. How do we get stuck with all these cases?” 

“Because we’re a specialized task force, which is apparently code for fucking ghost busters in this town.” Danny wiped at her face with her palm in a desperate manner. “Honestly, this division needs some restructuring. But tell that to the police commissioner.” 

“She’s one of the crazies!” Carmilla argued. 

Danny chuckled heartedly. “You got that right. You know she once gave me a supernatural manual that she had written and told me I needed to make sure every member of the division was debriefed on it.” 

The beer bottle halted right before it reached Carmilla’s lips that now hung open in disbelief. “You’ve got to be shitting me.” 

The Captain shook her head no.

“What did you do with it?” Carmilla asked, since she had never seen such a thing. 

“Burned it in my woodstove.” 

They both laughed at that. 

“Perks of being in the higher ups,” Carmilla teased, pointing her bottle toward Danny.

“It wasn’t like I had much of a choice after you refused the position. Otherwise we’d get some horrible transfer who would have made our lives hell. You certainly wouldn’t be permitted to wear your leather getups.” 

“That’s all I needed. To be in charge of a bunch of fuckers like my parents always wanted. I’d be halfway to being Mayor before I could even blink. Besides, you’re a much better leader. You’ve got morals and shit. And I would wear leather no matter who my Captain was.” 

Danny smiled, because yeah Carmilla would. 

“Did you just compliment me?” Danny asked in disbelief. 

“Shove it up your ass Jolly Green Giant,” Carmilla remarked and all was right in the world agin. She stood up from the catch and took Danny’s empty bottle from her hand. It was soon replaced with a fresh one. 

It was a very Carmilla gesture. She wouldn’t let anyone know they were friends, but when Danny was in her home she would dote on her. Danny stopped trying to figure Karnstein out years ago though and just kind of accepted her for what she was. It was why their friendship survived. 

“Speaking of promotions, when are you going to apply for Sergeant?” 

“Never.” 

“Karnstein, come on! I could really use you.” 

“I’ll die a detective Lawrence, and don’t you forget it.” 

Danny rolled her eyes at the familiar argument. Karnstein was beyond qualified to move up in the ranks. The only reason she didn’t was because it would please her parents too much. It didn’t matter if her best friend could really use her help, she’d never budge. 

“How could I? One day you’ll change your mind.” 

“Just cause you sold out doesn’t mean we all have to.” 

“I did not sell out!!” 

“Call it what you will.” 

Carmilla smirked. She took any opportunity she got to bust Danny’s balls about joining the higher ups. The truth was Ginger Giant belonged there. That was why she had gotten the job. Danny was a leader, a damn good one, and she was going to do more for Silas PD than Carmilla could ever dream of. Didn’t change the fact that the brunette would taunt her about it. 

“So what do you think of Hollis?” Danny said, changing the subject. At Carmilla’s eyebrow raise she rephrased, “In a professional sense.” 

“Are you asking me as my Captain?” 

“I’m just asking.” 

“Are you asking me as someone who is interested in her vagina?” Carmilla asked. 

Danny threw a pillow at her face that she dodged. 

“You’re insufferable,” Danny mumbled. 

“That was not a no,” Carmilla pointed out. Danny flipped her the bird and she sniggered to herself.

The redhead reached out to the coffee table and picked up one of the Chinese takeout boxes. As she watched noodles dangle into Danny’s mouth Carmilla started to think how she could actually describe Hollis. For some strange reason Carmilla felt the need to think long and hard before she spoke. It was an unfamiliar sensation for the brunette. 

“She’s far more intelligent than she comes off, though just as annoying. She is quick on her feet in a strange way, and can hold her own even though no one expects it of her. It’s almost like she plays up her perceived weakness to fool people.

She makes Urkel look cool, but she’s kind of hot in her own dorky way. Her photographic memory is no joke. Honestly she’s probably the best detective we’ve gotten in a long time.” 

Danny was staring at her similar to how Laura had been all morning when Carmilla finished her little description of the tiny blonde. 

“What?” 

“You like her,” Danny said as if it were fact. 

Carmilla rolled her eyes. “I don’t like anybody Lawrence, not even you.” 

“Oh my—“

“I do not—“

“You actually like her. I cannot get over this,” Danny exclaimed, ignoring Carmilla’s protests. 

“For the love of Socrates,” Carmilla said under her breath. This was going to be a thing now. 

Her best friend was beyond overjoyed at this revelation. The brunette ignored her exuberant antics. Something did strike her though; she did not disagree with Danny.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments? Questions? Desires?


	3. Burning Fire

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am sorry for my disappearance. Take this as a token of my love for you all.
> 
> ok something to run by you guys! I had this idea of doing this story as if each chapter is a new case they're working on? So the chapters would be longer and a little more themed. Or would you rather it be so that everything runs together? I was just wondering.

Laura was trying really, really hard to not hate her partner. Hate is not a word she likes to keep in her vocabulary, because honestly it’s petty and an easy way out in her opinion. That being said, Carmilla Karnstein has been making her question her morals on every level. 

If her snarky attitude wasn’t enough, her genuine hatred of being a decent human is. Her new partner is messy as can be and somehow her trash magically wanders onto Laura’s desk. She steals from her secret chocolate stash, which is a sin in and of itself. There’s also the hoard of “informants” that saunter through the precinct wearing nothing (not entirely an exaggeration in one case) looking for her – Carmilla’s always conveniently missing during these times leaving Laura to deal with these pissed off women. And lets not even speak about the whole big gay day they had, which hasn’t been brought up since.

After a little over a month Laura’s close to snapping. 

So when she rolls into work ten minutes early on Tuesday morning the blonde is almost ready to request a transfer…until she finds that there are more important things to worry about. 

“Hey!” Laura greets, directing her stare to the tall redhead who’s standing in her office doorway. The blonde has come to greet her boss every day as Danny’s office is the first thing she sees when Laura steps onto the 5th floor.

“Hollis! Good, you’re here.”

“Yeah? Why do you say that like I’m going to regret coming into work today?” 

Danny has the decency to appear sheepish. 

“Sorry. We’ve got a situation and I need you and Karnstein.” 

Laura glances down to her watch and snorts.

“Yeah, fat chance she’ll be in any time soon.” 

Carmilla is religiously late to work – you can set your watch to it ironically enough.

“I know, which is why I need you to go get her.” 

“Fine. Where does she live?” 

Laura’s not exactly thrilled about having to be her partner’s babysitter, but it’s not like she has much of a choice. 

“It’s Tuesday so she’ll be at St. Vinny’s.” 

The detective drops her jaw in disbelief. Carmilla Karnstein at a church? As in a holy place? She had no idea she was even religious, let alone Catholic. 

“Are you sure about that?” Laura asks, doubtful. 

Danny nods her head. She is half paying attention to the blonde as she reads over a file and jots down notes. 

“Yeah. Tuesday. She’ll be there.” 

The Captain has such confidence in her answer that Laura doesn’t want to question it. 

“What is this all about?” 

A grimace crossed Danny’s face and Laura wished she had stayed home that morning. Her bed doesn’t give her all these fucking issues. 

\----------------------------

It takes a total of ten minutes for Laura to navigate to St. Vinny’s from the station. And another five to wander down the tangled halls of the old church. For a moment Laura gets lost in the beauty of the intricate stain glass windows and hand painted murals that align the walls. 

Until she runs straight into a nun. 

There is an unspoken, cardinal rule about not harming nuns, even if you’re not Catholic. So when the poor woman goes flying back, Laura reaches out for her on instinct. That sends them both toppling to the floor in a heap. 

“Oh my GO-oodness! I am so sorry!” Laura stutters. 

The petite blonde sits up to see that the nun is face first on the ground, and her habit has spun around backwards. 

“That’s alright dearie,” a muffled voice replies. 

“Please let me help you up. I am so sorry! I’m such a klutz,” Laura continues to stammer. She manages to help the plump woman from the ground. 

The woman spins her headdress around, and tuffs of bright white hair stick out. She has rosy cheeks, a crooked nose, and a smile that is as warm as woodstoves on cold nights. She’s old, which is a relative term really, but she is well into her sixties judging by the wrinkles that decorate her face. Most women hide from the lines of time, but this woman wears them with pride. 

“I didn’t see you coming. I’m looking for my partner, and I got lost…well more like distracted because this place is beautiful, but I didn’t see you coming. I am so sor-” 

A stubby finger placed directly on Laura’s lips silences her incessant babbling. 

“I see you’ve been gifted with the ability to never be at a loss for words.”

To so tactfully disguise an insult is a talent that Laura can respect. She giggles at the woman, and smiles graciously. 

“Yeah,” is Laura’s only response. 

The old nun winks at her and hums a laugh. 

“Where are you off to dearie?” 

“I’m trying to find my partner, Carmilla Karnstein. My Lieutenant told me she would be here, but now I’m starting to think it’s one big joke they’re playing on me.” 

“You must mean Mircalla.” 

Laura is about to argue, that no indeed her partner’s name is Carmilla, but she finds herself being dragged along by a nun and she can’t seem to disagree. The path they weave makes Laura grateful for her stout savior; because there is no way she could have ever navigated herself like this. 

Eventually Laura finds herself standing inside a massive kitchen where several nuns are donning aprons, and many civilians are wielding spoons. 

“Where are we?” Laura asks her guide. 

“Well what does it look like? It’s a bloody kitchen, that’s what. We’ve got lunch to serve in less than two hours missy!” Her no nonsense attitude is charming to Laura, and she smiles as the woman bounces about. 

Sister Mary Alice, as Laura has come to know her, waddles behind the kitchen line where many people are chopping and slicing along. It dawns on Laura that this is a church, and that they probably have a soup kitchen where they feed the homeless. She just never imagined it would be on such a grand scale. 

A sizzling pan of onions and a puff of flour send the tiny gay detective off kilter and she nearly falls again before she catches up with Mary Alice. For such a short round person she sure is quick. 

“Not too quiet this one,” Mary Alice says, and Laura ganders upward to see that she’s speaking to Carmilla. The brunette is holding a very sharp knife and dicing some carrots with expertise that lets Laura know she’s done this many times before. “But she’s got one hell of a smile. You could do worse Mircalla.” 

Sister Mary Alice turns on her heel and looks Laura up and down. For some odd reason it feels like a Mother Hen assessing her child’s mate, which she is in no way. The nun walks away before she can speak though. 

“You made quite the impression on Alice. What did you say to her?” Carmilla asks with such nonchalance it nearly pisses Laura off. She doesn’t bother to glance at her, instead focusing on her vegetables, and Laura is much more important than vegetables.

“That I was looking for my partner and got lost.” 

Camrilla’s perfect mouth forms an O as she continues to dice the carrots, and then moves on to some tomatoes. Laura wonders momentarily if the old woman had known that Carmilla is gay, and thought the term “partner” was in reference to a relationship status. 

“So Hollis, how did you find my hiding spot?” 

“I hardly call this hiding, you’re in plane sight. And Danny told me where you’d be. We’ve got a case, and she needs us on it.” 

“Has to be pretty big for the ginger giant to send you the whole way down here on a Tuesday.” 

Laura watches entranced by Carmilla’s elegant hands that continue to chop the food before her. 

“What are you doing here?” Laura asks abruptly. 

“What does it look like?” Carmilla retorts smartly, waving her knife around in the air. 

“I mean, why are you in a church, helping make food for homeless people? And why does that woman think your name is Mircalla?” 

Carmilla finishes cutting the tomato and puts her sharp culinary instrument down. She dusts her hands of the food, and turns to finally face Laura. 

“You’re full of questions this morning,” Carmilla replies sweetly, and steps past Laura. She grabs a black leather jacket from a nearby hook, and slips it on. “So, what has Sasquatch in a tizzy now?” 

Laura’s learned that Carmilla is never going to tell her something that she doesn’t want to. But she’s also learned that with persistence the brunette can be worn down enough to give some answers. She decides now is not the time. 

“You’re not going to believe this,” Laura says, following her partner out of the church. 

\------------------------------

Indeed, Carmilla was impressed, but not surprised at what dragged them out of the office, or in Carmilla’s case, church. 

Three miles outside of the city limits is Silas’ one and only trailer park that is more like a trailer world because of how big it is. It sits on a swamp that gives the air a rather damp feeling, and there are signs that read “Beware Crocodiles” on every street corner. 

The entrance to the park makes Laura feel like she is entering some creature’s mouth because of the overgrown forestry and jagged sticks that drag along the car’s roof. 

“That’s one hell of a welcome,” Laura says, and Carmilla actually laughs. When the tiny detective looks over at her partner, Carmilla is trying to hide a faint smile. 

“Deanville likes to keep it spooky, it’s their thing,” Carmilla explains. As a lifelong resident she’s more familiar with the area than Laura. The trailer park is actually called Silas Sanctuary for Mobile Homes, but everyone refers to it as Deanville because a batty old woman who calls herself “the Dean” runs the place. 

In fact she’s the first person that greets them when the long driveway to hell ends and they pull out into a gravel lot. The Dean is sitting on a florescent pink golf cart that has flame decals on it. She’s got bright red hair that is curled straight upward making her look like the Mom from the Simpsons. A bullhorn hangs around her neck, and she has a pair of 60’s style bright green glasses on. She looks like one hell of a lunatic. 

Carmilla parks the car facing the woman directly and mutters, “Heaven help us.” Laura lets out a bark of laughter at the very appropriate comment. 

“She’s going to be fun,” Laura assess, as they step out of the blacked out BMW. They had taken Carmilla’s personal car from the church, because she always insisted on driving and Laura actually had no idea where Deanville was. It was kind of nice to ride in style, but the flashy vehicle made her feel out of sorts for a detective on duty. 

Carmilla’s dark aviators gleam in the sunlight, and Laura wishes she could pull off the whole badass cop persona that the brunette has mastered. Her partner’s ability to be so effortlessly cool is beyond annoying…and attractive. Next to her the tiny detective feels more like a sidekick (as if working with Carmilla weren’t annoying enough.)

“Well lookie here what I got,” the woman drawls. “A KARNSTEIN ON THE PREMESIS,” the Dean hollers the last part into the bullhorn from her golf cart. 

“Wow that thing is loud,” Carmilla remarks, as they make their way toward the ruff woman lounging on a glorified lawn mower. 

“How does she know who you are?” Laura asks. 

“Lets just say our families have history.” 

They approach the golf cart with caution, and Laura has to wonder what has happened to bring them to this extremely weird place. Well, by Silas standards it’s not so bad. 

The Dean, or Edna Perkins as the file read, stands from her cushy seat with a twisted grin plastered on her face. 

“Got a hug for your Auntie?” she says, flinging her arms out wide to Carmilla. 

Laura feels her jaw drop and the wind rush through her ears. She stands stupefied as Carmilla does indeed step into the hug. 

“Aunt?” Laura falters. 

Both women ignore Laura as the conversation moves forward to more pressing matters. Rudeness must be a family trait. 

“What are you doing dragging me out here so early?” Carmilla asks, with a genuine smile on her face. Laura can’t believe the sight, or how absolutely gorgeous it is. 

“Honey, you’re not going to believe this.” 

This seems to be the reoccurring phrase of the day. 

Edna escorts them to the scene of the crime via pink golf cart. Laura discovers that the vehicle is gas powered and has quite the pick up as they nearly fly to their death while they weave their way down the dirt roads that connect the park. Eventually the roads just drop off into an open field that’s lined by woods. Laura guesses its room for expansion, seeing as how the trailer park is so vast. 

That’s when they see it. 

The last four trailers that are built on the mostly deserted road are covered completely in blood. The open field that is visible is smoking as large quantities of the ground have been burned. Dead animals are arranged all across the field, and some are even hanging from the roofs of the trailers. 

“Holy fuck,” Carmilla says. She whips out her cell phone and immediately dials the station, calling in for a tech team to sweep the area. 

“I’m betting that there’s a message burned into that field,” Laura notes. 

“If I did bet, it would be on you Hollis.” 

Laura accepts the strangely placed compliment from Carmilla and hates that is distracts her from the bloody field, which should be her number one priority. 

The brunette turns to face her aunt, “What happened?” 

A question that launches the woman into a full on rant about youngins’ and their pranks. At one point she even screams into the bullhorn toward the multitude of houses about how she’s going to hang them from her toes if she ever catches them. The main thing the detectives draw from this is that Aunt Edna is a scoosh unhinged, shouldn’t be empowered with a megaphone, and she doesn’t actually know what happened. The blood and fire appeared last night, and when she called Silas PD didn’t believe her at first. This is mostly because Aunt Edna calls in all the time with stories of aliens and werewolves. 

Laura and Carmilla immediately know that this is not the work of some kids playing pranks. It’s way to grand a scale - someone is sending a message. 

“We’ll take it from here Aunt Edna. Why don’t you go and wait for backup to arrive?” 

Edna leaves them, and they stand and stare at the spectacle before them. Despite the silence Carmilla can hear Laura’s mind working, and she knows that the tiny brown haired girl probably has the scene committed to memory by now. Perks of having a genius partner. 

They know better than to step onto the scene before it’s been swept, but they gingerly creep across to get a better look at one of the trailers. 

On the backside a message has been spelled out in blood. It reads, “he comes.” 

“Think they could be a little less subtle?” Carmilla asks. 

“So Silas has some Satanists. The question is why they’re terrorizing trailer parks.” 

\--------------------------------

Kung Fu Yu has the best Chinese food in Silas, and a highly inappropriate name to go along with it. It is however, opened 24/7, and frequented by the Silas PD when their officers pull long nights. 

“Why burn a pentagram into a field?” Danny asks, slurping up some lo mein noodles.

“They’re obviously putting on a performance,” Laura notes. “Satanic symbols, blood, they want to cause a reaction, and they want a lot of attention.” 

“Well lets not give them that then,” the Lieutenant commands. 

“Already put in a call to the reporters,” Carmilla informs. 

“More like six of your informants.” Laura isn’t exactly proud of her remark, so she avoids eye contact and scarfs down more of her chicken and broccoli. She’s not really sure why she said it, but she’s definitely sure she doesn’t want to feel either of their judgment about it. 

“Are we sure its animal blood?” Laura asks, trying to recover from her slip-up.

“Won’t know until the lab gets finished with the samples, but LaF said they were pretty certain.” 

“Dead raccoons and squirrels is only the beginning of this,” Carmilla prods. 

“Perhaps,” Laura says, as she scribbles onto a legal pad as if her life depends on it. 

Danny is too distracted by her meal to notice, or maybe she just doesn’t know Laura quite like Carmilla is starting to. The only time Laura isn’t talking is when she’s writing and eating, she’s willing to include sleeping as well but there’s a strong chance Hollis talks in her sleep. Point being, Laura’s writing is really just her thinking frantically without saying anything. 

“What do you got over there, Cupcake?” 

Laura huffs and puffs at the nickname, but she looks up at the brunette with focused eyes. 

“Why animals? If you were trying to cause mass panic you wouldn’t be so theatrical. You’d just-“

“Kill?” Carmilla supplies. 

Laura bites her lip in contemplation and nods. 

“So are we worried that’s the next step or that this is more than a satanic demonstration.” 

“A distraction maybe?” Danny counters. 

The light haired brunette stands up from her chair and makes her way to the mobile whiteboard they wheeled in to the bullpen. They had taped up several of the crime scene photos and even an aerial of the burned up field. 

“From what?” Laura asks, her eyes roaming over the pictures trying to find a clue, a hint of what this is. 

“I can’t take this anymore.” Danny sighs. “It’s nearly midnight. I’ve got to sleep, because the mayor is going to be up my ass come six.” 

Danny stands and stretches her very long back out. It makes a few popping noises. She’s been sleeping on her office couch too much lately. 

“Do us all a favor and go home to your bed before I have to get up your ass,” Carmilla says. 

Laura smiles at the cleverly disguised jib. She’s notice something about her partner too. Carmilla’s more of an asshole to Danny than anyone else, and that’s because she cares about her. 

“Will do.” Danny gives them an exaggerated salute, dumps her takeout, and saunters out of the building, leaving Carmilla and Laura in a deserted office. 

“You want to turn in too?” Carmilla asks. 

The seasoned detective isn’t really one for sleep especially with something as puzzling as random satanic attacks in Silas to keep her awake. Laura on the other hand might be another story. Most people can’t function well without sleep, and she would never hold that against them. It’s not their fault she’s fucked up. 

“No, but I could use a change in scenery,” Laura says, glancing up from her notepad. 

A carnal smile comes over Carmilla’s lovely lips as she whispers, “Your place or mine Cupcake?” 

It turns out to be Laura’s, mostly because she was afraid of contracting something if she were ever to step foot in Carmilla’s living space. Plus she can’t imagine the piles of filth – the thought gives her anxiety. 

They spill the ever-growing case file and loads of pictures across the coffee table. Laura sets them up with a couple of grape sodas – ever the hostess – it turns out grape is Carmilla’s favorite flavor too. They sit on the floor, surrounded by moving boxes, with the TV on something mind-numbing for background noise. 

Carmilla watches as Laura stacks up all over her various sized notebooks into a neat, precise pile. She then reaches behind her and pulls a large leather notebook from the couch cushions that had obviously been stuffed there. It’s just another gentle reminder of Laura’s boundless memory. Carmilla watches in amazement as the tiny detective begins to copy all of her notes over. 

“You keep a notebook of your notebooks?” 

It’s crossed Carmilla’s mind once or twice that is odd for someone with such an extraordinary memory to keep such detailed documentation. As she proses the question Laura’s eyes don’t leave the paper. A slight blush of rose comes over her cheeks and she bites her lip. 

“Yeah,” Laura says, a tremor running through her voice. “Is that…I-s-s that weird?” 

Seeing Laura self-conscious over her notebooks seems to melt Carmilla’s frozen heart. Without thinking she reaches over and lifts Laura’s chin so that those big brown eyes are staring right at her. 

“No Cupcake, it’s not at all.” 

_What is this?_ Laura wonders. There’s something about her eyes, they’re not what she expected. They’re honest. 

Laura gently pulls away, for fear of what she might say next. She needs to spend less time trying to figure out her partner, and more time trying to figure out this crime scene before it turns into a murder. _Priorities Laura._

Carmilla doesn’t make her feel bad about it. She simply turns back to her laptop and begins typing. Laura pours over the photos, her notes, and theories she has. They work in silence for the better part of a few hours. The occasional yawn or movements is the only thing between them. 

“Fucking bingo.” 

Laura’s head shoots up like a hipster who has finally found the perfect flannel. 

“What is it?” 

Carmilla turns the computer screen so they both can see. She has an old newspaper clipping pulled up from the town’s paper, The Silas Star. It’s an article about a secret society called the Demonics. Subtle, Laura musses. 

“About 20 years ago a bunch of kids dressed up in black clothes and tried to lite their school on fire.” 

“And that has what to do with this case?” 

The brunette clicks down a few inches revealing a picture of a bright burning pentagram in the center of a football field. 

“Shit.” 

“Cupcake, did you just swear?”

“I think it’s called for.” 

“Indeed,” Carmilla agrees, grinning to herself. 

Laura’s eyes scan over the article in what has to be thirty seconds flat. She scribbles down a few names. Carmilla can’t believe that she read the article that fast. 

“Ok, we need to question the people involved,” Laura states, getting up from the ground and searching for her jacket. Her tunnel vision kicks in and all she can see is what she needs to do and not what’s actually going on around her. 

“Uh, Creampuff,” Carmilla says, stepping into the blonde terror’s path. Laura stops like a deer in headlights. “As much as I’d love to go banging down doors with you, it’s 2 in the morning.” 

“So?” Laura snaps. 

“So, you need to sleep.” 

“Sleep?” Laura exclaims. “Who could sleep at a time like this? There’s a potential murderer on the loose. We need to find these people.” 

“And we will,” Carmilla soothes, grasping on to Laura’s shoulders to keep the tiny blonde steady. “But first, you need to rest. You can’t think properly when you’re tired, trust me, I know.” 

Laura avoids Carmilla’s eye contact and for some reason that makes the brunette smile ever so slightly. 

“You have trouble sleeping?” Laura’s voice is more fragile than before. She’s not squirming around, instead she remains steady in Carmilla’s grasp. 

“Yes,” Carmilla admits. Her voice too has grown softer as time seems to slow. 

“Why?” 

“I’ve seen more nightmares come to life than I care to speak about. After awhile you can’t tell the difference. It can make sleep…unappealing.” 

She never tells anyone this. Carmilla has gotten very good at keeping everyone and everything out. Why doesn’t she respond with a quick jib as usual? 

“You’re not exactly helping your argument,” Laura says, chuckling softly. 

“I guess not.” Carmilla smiles at her partner. She releases her shoulders, having realized that she was holding on all this time. 

“I don’t think I could sleep right now even if I wanted to,” Laura admits, sinking into her couch as she says it. She needs some distance from the broody brunette. 

Carmilla takes a seat next to her. “So, lets take your mind off of things that way you can relax.” 

“How?” Laura asks disbelievingly. 

“I’m so going to regret this, but why don’t you ask me a question.” Laura’s face lights up as she gazes over at her partner suspiciously. “And I’ll answer it.” Carmilla practically chokes on the last part. What dreadful game has she created for herself?

Laura’s eyes widen and a mischievous grin comes across her face and Carmilla instantly regrets her decision. 

“Why do you volunteer at a church?” 

“Why do you find that so surprising?” Carmilla counters. 

Laura purses her lips at the defensive comeback. But, maybe there is something to Carmilla’s frigid response. Maybe she’s being a tad judgmental. 

“Sorry. Just, you have to admit that it doesn’t exactly fit your personality.” 

“What exactly does one have to be to be able to go to church in your mind Creampuff?” 

“Okay. Now you’re making me feel like an asshole.” 

Carmilla chuckles deeply at that. “Serves you right.” 

“So much for answering my question.” Laura huffs. She really should have known better. 

“Lay down Cupcake.” 

“What?” Laura asks a bit frightened at where this might be going.

“I will tell you why if you lay down.” 

Laura is skeptical, but still she sinks lower onto the couch until her head is propped up against a pillow and her feet are curled up next to Carmilla’s thighs. The brunette sighs, and reaches around Laura’s ankles and pulls them tightly until they are dangling in her lap. 

“Better?” Laura teases, with an amused smile on her face. 

Carmilla stares straight ahead at the TV, but Laura knows she’s not actually watching it. 

“You know the nun you barreled over this morning?” 

“I did not barrel her over!” Laura defends. Carmilla smiles to herself at her all too cute reaction. 

“Sister Mary Alice,” Carmilla finishes, ignoring Laura’s protests of innocence. “She saved my life once.” 

“How?” Laura interrupts, unable to stop herself. 

“Lay back down,” Carmilla commands. Laura sheepishly lowers herself back down. It would seem her partner is strict about this whole relaxing thing. 

“If you get up again this whole confession session ends. Get it?” 

Laura nods, too afraid to speak and mess it up. Why she’s so anxious to know about Carmilla’s past is a better question to ask, but that one she leave for herself to answer later. 

“I was what you would call a problem child. One night I got myself into real trouble. I was trying to escape these guys that were chasing me and I fell right on the church steps.” Carmilla grew silent and Laura had to wonder why these men were chasing her. The brunette’s far off look tells her there is much more to this story. 

“The fall, it must have knocked me out for a minute.” Carmilla struggles to speak as she recalls. “When I came to there was Sister Mary Alice standing over me, with a baseball bat in one hand and a rosary in the other.” 

Carmilla laughs at this as if she laughed the second it happened. Laura can’t help but giggle at the idea of a knocked out girl and an armed nun standing in front of a church. 

“She took me into the church that night. She bandaged me up, said a prayer over me, and then I slept the entire night in her bed for the first time in a long time. I was fifteen then, and I’ve gone to church every Sunday since. I volunteer wherever Alice needs me.” 

Laura lay there completely taken aback by what she had heard. She had expected some torrid tale about being saved by the love of God or even a mock soap opera performance about how it helped control her demons. 

“Why does she call you Mircalla?” Laura asks, because she’s certain there’s nothing she can say. She feels like a jackass for expecting the worst from her partner. 

“Because when she asked me what my name was I lied and told her it was that. It was a habit I picked up. People couldn’t know I was the daughter or the police chief and the mayor. She knew who I was, she just let me think I knew better for awhile.” 

“That nun has a lot of spirit.”

“She certainly does,” Carmilla replies. The brunette notices that Laura’s eyes are getting heavier. Her long eyelashes are dripped so low that only hints of brown can be seen underneath of them. 

“This plan of yours is working.” Laura yawns as she curls tighter into the cushions. Carmilla grabs the blanket draped on the back of the couch and spreads it out over Laura. 

“Most of mine do Cupcake.” 

Laura yawns again, this one much longer. Her toes curl and her feet shuffle in Carmilla’s lap. 

“Will you be here when I wake up?” Laura asks, her voice low as she is already half asleep. 

“Yeah Creampuff. We’ve got some doors to break down.” 

\----------------------------------------------

Carmilla is there when Laura wakes up. She’s in the kitchen humming rather pleasantly, dishing out some coffee she’s brewed. Laura leans in the doorway as she rubs the sleep from her eyes and watches the brunette turn back to the stove where she’s actually cooking. Laura can hardly believe it. 

“You’re not going to start the starring thing again are you?” Carmilla teases, with her back still turned to Laura. The blonde wonders if she has some weird cat hearing or something because she hadn’t made a sound. 

“No, I’m not. I just can’t believe you’re in the kitchen,” Laura says. 

“Is that some shot at my gender?” Carmilla questions, her eyebrow raised as she turns to regard her still sleepy partner. The brunette takes the mug of coffee she had made for Laura and puts it in her loose grasp. “Lots of sugar and cream just how you like it Cupcake.” 

“Thank you,” Laura says, smiling into her mug as she takes a long sip. She’s not usually one for coffee, but she needs it this morning. It’s an odd thing, being taken care of by one Carmilla Karnstein. The brunette has been calling the shots for the past 24 hours and somehow she knew what Laura needed without having to ask. Perhaps she’s not all pointy edges and sharp words. “You make a good housewife you know,” Laura teases, unable to resist. “All you need is the apron.” The tiny detective giggles at her own joke as she takes a seat at the kitchen table and continues to drink. 

Laura doesn’t see the smile that trickles onto Carmilla’s face at the sound of the tiny one’s laughter so early in the morning, or the idea of her cooking in an apron. Carmilla flips the omelet from the pan to a plate, turns, places the food in front of Laura and purrs, “I’ll keep that in mind Creampuff.” 

There are many gifts that have been bestowed on Carmilla, but her ability to use her gravely voice to manipulate the hell out of women and men alike is one she appreciates greatly. Especially when she sees red creep up Laura’s chest and cheeks at her suggestive comment. 

Carmilla turns back to the oven to finish her own breakfast. Laura is embarrassed by her inability to control her reactions and she sulkily goes about eating her breakfast, which is quite tasty. 

“So, you can cook.” 

“I thought we established that I work in a kitchen yesterday,” Carmilla fires back. She has a smug smile on her face as she sits down with her own food across from Laura. They eat in silence, both relishing filling their stomachs with a proper meal. 

“You changed your clothes,” Laura says, pointing with her fork to Carmilla’s fresh shirt and dark jeans. 

“I keep spare clothes in my car.” 

“That’s actually not a bad idea with the erratic hours we keep,” Laura muses. She could learn a few things about being a detective from her partner. 

“This is weird,” Carmilla says, dropping her fork to her plate. 

Laura nods, “Yeah, us making small talk should not be a thing.” 

“Agreed.” 

Carmilla’s cell phone rings and she gets up from the table to take it. Laura scarfs down the rest of her breakfast to the mumblings of the brunette’s conversation. 

“Danny thinks we should follow up the leads,” Carmilla announces as she strolls back into the room. 

“I nearly forgot!” Laura yelps, dropping her plate into the sink. “We’ve got to get going!” 

“Do me a favor, and take a shower. You smell Hollis.” 

Laura shot her a death glare as she made her way out of the kitchen and to her bedroom. Fifteen minutes later they were in the car on their way to Movoti Benato’s house. 

Benato had been the ‘leader’ of the little devil clan that was suspected to have attempted arson. Despite the article, the police department had never been able to make the charges stick. The supposed confessional that the Demonics had submitted to the paper had left the identities ambiguous. However, SPD had their own Intel about who was who in the group. 

“So this Benato guy just casually runs a satanic cult as a teenager and now he’s a welder?” Laura thinks aloud. “Twenty dollars says he has a pentagram tattoo on the back of his neck,” Laura mutters, as she tries to focus on the file in her lap despite Carmilla’s erratic driving. 

“You’re on Princess.” Because why the hell not? There was good chance that her partner was going to be wrong. 

“Now I’m royalty?” Laura says, intrigued. She dips her head up to sneak a look at her partner with a coy smile on her lips. She had certainly been treated like a princess over the past 24 hours, which was odd. 

“Don’t read into it,” Carmilla says, with her cool, composed tone. 

Laura chuckles to herself as she goes back to reading. She wanted to be as prepared as possible for this, it might be their only chance. 

They pull up to Flames, Benato’s shop, and Laura knows that the name is no coincidence. 

“Ready?” Carmilla prompts. Her black aviators are hiding her eyes, but Laura knows there are purple circles under them from lack of sleep. Laura wonders how she can function like that. 

“Yep,” the tiny detective replies, flipping her smallest notebook close and tucking it in her back pocket. 

The shop is really just a giant garage made of cinder block with two big doors. Sounds of giant machinery churning and the crackling of fire greet them as they step over the concrete threshold. They stand at the entrance for a few minutes and no one notices them.

“Excuse me,” Laura calls. No one looks up. “I said excuse me!” 

Carmilla lets out a frustrated groan. The season detectives’ eyes wander around until she spots a stray piece of metal lying on a table. She picks it up and bangs it against the garage door three times. Laura stares at her in shock, and all of the bodies in the shop finally look at them. 

“We’re looking for Movoti Benato,” Carmilla yells. 

A man takes off his welder mask and grunts, “Whose asking?” 

Before Carmilla can respond Laura has gotten out her badge and replies, “Silas PD.” 

Carmilla says, “oh shit,” under her breath just as the man drops his tools and starts running. “Had to pull the badge Hollis,” she huffs as she takes off after who she’s assuming is Benato. She can hear Larua shouting something at her, but doesn’t take the time to actually listen. 

Instead she’s hauling ass after a thirty something who is really, really in shape for his age. He even manages to flip over a table that Carmilla has to jump across, like she’s in fucking hurdles. Sparks are flying from the welding, air compressors are going off, basically there are a lot of distractions. 

“I did not sign up for this shit,” the brunette grumbles between strained breaths, as she pumps her arms faster. 

Benato ducks out of a back door and Carmilla follows. He’s half way around the back of the building and she doesn’t know how she’s going to catch this asshole. Not to mention the chaffing she’s going to have later from running in leather pants. It pisses her off, and that makes her run even harder. She’s nearly on his heels when he takes a turn heading for the front of the building. 

Laura pops out from around the corner and close lines Benato. That simple. Her arm hits his chest, and it’s like time stops as he drops like a ton of bricks. Carmilla can hear the thud of his body hitting the ground. His feet still pointed out to the ground they’ll never meet. 

“Movoti Benato,” Laura says breathless as she’s crouched over him holding him to the ground (not that she needs to cause she knocked the shit out of him and he can hardly breathe, let alone move). “We’ve got some questions to ask you.” 

Carmilla can’t help but laugh. Laura takes down a perp twice her size and that’s her hard hitting cool guy line. 

“Damn Cupcake,” she says. “You might be useful after all.” 

Laura flips Menato over on his stomach and moves his long black hair off his neck to reveal a pentagram neck tattoo. 

“You owe me twenty bucks.” The smug smile on Laura’s face makes Carmilla proud. She’s learning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always please let me know what you think!
> 
> Come chat with me on tumblr: theregalist  
> ;D


	4. What is sweet, kind, and dressed in black?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! So I know said I was going to write this one way, but then this happened, and I just went with it. And I'm sorry I haven't been posting as consistently as I do when I start a fic. I'm actually devoting much of my writing time to a book that I'm looking to publish this year. If you want snippets about it please feel free to come talk to me on tumblr! Thank you for reading!

Benato had confessed to the vandalism. He all too willingly took full responsibility for the incident. The ink was barely dry on his signature, and the cuffs were on him when Laura got that face. The one where she’s not quite satisfied. Most people would be happy to solve a case and have an alleged Satanist behind bars. But Laura smells a story, and she wants to dig to the bottom of the hole just in case there’s hidden gold there. 

“Oh no,” Carmilla muttered under her breath. 

“What?” Laura asked, not bothering to look at her. Her face was still scrunched up in that adorable fashion, and she was definitely thinking. Thinking was never good when it came to Laura Hollis. 

“What’s wrong now Cupcake? You don’t think he did it?” Carmilla asked, as they watched Benato be escorted from the interrogation room to lock up. 

“No, I didn’t say that,” Laura dismissed. 

“You didn’t say anything, but you’re definitely not okay with this. So your window to talk about it is in the next ten seconds, or I’m closing it forever.” Carmilla glanced down to her wrist (which did not have a watch on it) and counted, “one, two, three, four, fi…”

“Okay! I don’t think that was the whole story! Why would he do all that just to confess? And besides that, he looked way too happy about it.” 

Carmilla nodded. 

“You agree with me?” Laura asked, skeptical. 

“He was way too easy,” Carmilla said. She shrugged her shoulders and put her hands on her hips. 

“So what do we do?” 

“Remember when Lawrence said that it might be a distraction?”

“Yeah?” 

“What if this is the distraction? Once a case is solved and a suspect is in custody cops tend to stop digging around which leaves-“

“Plenty of opportunity for more mischief,” Laura finished. 

“I would never say the word ‘mischief’ cause I’m not twelve, but yeah.” 

“You just did.” 

“Just did what?” 

“Said the word,” Laura pointed out, with a smile threatening to spill over her lips. 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about Hollis.” Carmilla rolled her eyes, as she often did at her partner, and sauntered back toward the bullpen. 

Laura laughed as she followed behind chanting, “Mischief managed!” 

Carmilla really regretted having a partner sometimes. Oddly enough it wasn’t times like these. 

 

“Where the hell are we going?” Laura whispered. 

Carmilla looked up to the sky praying for whatever deity there was to make her death quick, and then. They had only been walking through the woods for ten minutes, and Laura could barely contain herself. 

“Cupcake, the whole point of a stake-out is not letting people know we’re here,” Carmilla snapped as she turned around to glare at the blonde. “So while it may be hard for you, please shut-up before I gag you.” The brunette held up a bandana for emphasis, and Laura’s eyes widened. 

“Okay, okay,” she grumbled. Laura huffed, and crossed her arms. Carmilla took the silence as her cue to keep moving. 

They had the idea of returning to the crime scene after hours to see if any one showed up. With Benato in jail, and the trailer park furious at what they believed was a prank, chances were that if one of the participants was going to show back up at the scene of the crime it might be tonight. So, Laura and Carmilla had agreed to meet outside of the trailer park at 11:30. They were going to hike through the woods to get to the other side of the field so no one would know they were watching. It was a great plan, except for the whole bringing Laura Hollis along part. 

“Are you sure you know where we’re going? I just don’t want to get lost,” Laura hissed, in an attempt to whisper. 

“We’re on the highway to hell apparently,” Carmilla retorted. 

“I heard that!” Laura snapped back. 

It was only a few more feet of crunching leaves and mud until they reached their destination: a giant tree. 

“I can barely see the clearing from here, the woods are too thick. We need to get closer,” Laura said. 

Carmilla blatantly ignored Laura. She let her hand fall against the tree trunk and it slid around the base until it came across the planks she had been looking for. Slowly Carmilla started to climb the makeshift ladder that had been nailed into the tree, leaving Laura at the bottom talking to herself. 

The tiny detective screeched, “Carmilla?” just as she got to the top, and the brunette knew she had finally discovered that she was alone.

“Up here! And keep your voice down!” Carmilla called down from the enclosed deer stand. 

Laura scurried up the tree and into the tiny hunting shelter. “Thanks for telling me we’re conducting surveillance in a tree house! I thought you were kidnapped for a solid five seconds there.” 

“I wish,” Carmilla retorted under her breath. 

The duck blind was cramped to say the least. It was only built to hold one person really. There was a camouflage pull out chair stationed on the rickety wooden floor that had to be made out of scraps. Everything was covered in what looked to be dried grass. There was a slender window that ran along the length of the hut that allowed them to look out over the field. 

Laura peered out into the foggy night air, and could make out the faint glow of the trailers’ front porch lights. Most of the field’s dead bodies had been cleaned up, but the pentagram was still visible. Carmilla sat in the chair without thinking twice, which left Laura pressed into the corner with barely any room to move. 

“How did you know this was here?” Laura whispered. Laura can’t really whisper though. It’s cute, watching her trying to control her volume, when all she’s doing is just speaking normally with a lot more air behind her words. It made Carmilla want to laugh, but she held it in. She was doing that a lot. 

“I hung out here a lot as a kid. This is Mr. Wilson’s tree stand, and my aunt lets him hunt here, for a fee. He used to let us play in it.” 

“Wow. You actually played as a child?” 

“Is that so hard to believe?” Carmilla asked, the smirk that has been building finally constructing itself on her face. 

“No, actually.” Laura’s voice is softer, and that for some reason surprised Carmilla. A quiet hush fell over them. Carmilla adjusting to the impact of so few words from Laura, and the blonde fixated on the field. If anyone were to take a closer look they’d see that the tiny detective’s eyes were glazed over though, lost somewhere else. 

Fifteen minutes passed and nothing happened. The wind blew faintly against the tiny shack, and Laura shuttered. 

“Okay, time to switch spots,” Laura whined. 

Carmilla chuckled. “Uh, no.” 

“Carmilla that’s not fair. You get a turn in the seat, and then I do.” 

“I don’t remember agreeing to that.” 

Laura stomped her foot. “I can’t just stand in this corner the rest of the night.”

“So don’t.” 

“Well what am I supposed to do?” 

“Not my problem Cupcake.” 

“Carmilla either you switch spots with me, or I am going to sit on top of you.” 

The brunette leaned back exposing her lap. The smile on her face a challenge, but her eyes were still trained out the window instead of on Laura. At first Carmilla had done it to be a smart-ass, and she hadn’t believed that Laura meant it. Laura hadn’t meant it, at first either. But then she sees that stupid smug grin on Carmilla’s face and she just wanted to smack it off. 

So, she took a deep breath, and moved with as much confidence as she could to sit on her partner’s lap. It’s amazing what stubbornness and a genuine dislike for a person can drive you to do. Laura put all of her weight on Carmilla, purposefully, but the brunette didn’t so much as flinch. Instead her body conformed around Laura as if it were the most natural thing in the world. 

“Comfortable?” 

Laura can hear the satisfaction in her voice. So much for smacking the smug off. 

“Very.”   
The blonde crossed her arms and settled back against Carmilla’s shoulder. The brunette’s arms came to rest at her sides, barely touching her. And just like that Laura became hyper aware of her partner. 

Carmilla must be like 80% muscle, because it’s almost like sitting on stone. Stone that is a little bit soft, and very, very warm. It made Laura wonder what’s going on underneath all of that leather. The blonde’s cheeks turned pink at the thought.

“You okay Creampuff?” Carmilla whispered into her ear. Every hair on Laura’s body stood at attention, and she had to will her spine not to wiggle at the sensation that shot down it. Carmilla’s breath was sweet, and her skin smelt of something unique…amber maybe?

“Fine,” she gritted out through clenched teeth. She crossed her arms a bit tighter hoping that keeping her body as condensed as possible would make it feel less nice. Carmilla on the other hand seemed to be relishing in it. Her body was relaxed, leaning back with her arms resting behind her head, and the hint of a smile on her lips. 

Laura pulled out her phone to check the time. Normally Carmilla wouldn’t even bother with looking at Laura’s phone, but because of her proximity to it she can see her home screen. It’s an old picture; Carmilla can tell from the filter that the image is dated. There’s a woman with dirty blonde hair that resembles Laura’s and a smile just as bright. She’s holding a baby who can’t be more than a year old. Their foreheads are pressed together, and they’re both laughing at something together as if it’s the funniest secret in the world, and only they know it. It’s such an intimate moment that it stunned Carmilla a bit. No such pictures of her and her Mother exist. 

“You look like her,” Carmilla admitted, not thinking much about the observation. 

Laura’s entire body went stiff. It’s weird as far as Carmilla can tell. Laura’s not the type to just react like that. She’s usually a big ball of energetic goop over most things. She had expected for the Cupcake to start gushing about her Mom and their awesome relationship, and how they get brunch every Sunday, and whatever. Instead she was quieter than Carmilla’s ever heard her. 

“Yeah, I guess I do,” Laura whispered, as if she were ashamed of it. Her voice is hollow and it made Carmilla’s pulse drop. 

“She’s beautiful,” Carmilla tried. There isn’t a doubt about it. The woman in the photo is beautiful, just like Laura. 

“She was.” 

Oh. 

“I didn’t know,” Carmilla murmured, her voice soft in Laura’s ear. They’re talking about something that is very emotional for her, but the closeness of her partner makes her shiver still. 

“It’s okay. I don’t really talk about it,” Laura said. There was a pause, for a long second before she continued. This time with more anger lacing her voice. “How do you tell people your Mom died when you were sixteen? That she got crushed in a car because a stupid drunk driver hit her dead on.” At that Laura’s chest fell, sinking in on itself. She nearly whimpered and Carmilla can tell that she’s trying to hold back tears. It’s an old wound, but when it bleeds it’s just as fresh as before, and Carmilla’s somehow gone and torn it open again. 

There are many mysterious things that have happened in Laura Hollis’ life. She’s a detective for chocolate’s sake, and she’s encountered her fair share of strange and inexplicable events. But that night, under the crescent moon of Silas, crammed into a glorified hut Carmilla’s actions will never make sense to Laura. Because on that night Laura saw a side to Carmilla that she hadn’t known existed. 

Carmilla’s right hand slid across Laura’s lap and intertwined with her own. The brunette lifted them into the air as if it was the most important thing she’d ever done. She placed a delicate kiss on the back of Laura’s hand, her lips nearly trembling and somehow it says everything that Carmilla doesn’t. Her lips linger and make a tiny plopping noise when she pulls away, only to return and leave another tender kiss beside the last. It’s so soft that if Laura weren’t watching it happen she probably would have never known it did. But Carmilla’s lips are there, kissing away the pain with such a tiny gesture. 

Her dark eyes peered up at Laura and there’s something in them, something that told Laura she was safe there, with her. That Carmilla knew in some way what she felt, but can never voice. Because there’s really no way to voice grief, and only those who have experienced it know that. There’s just acceptance from the brunette. Her arms that had been resting gently at Laura’s sides slowly wrapped around her and cradle her against Carmilla’s chest. How she came to be leaning against the brunette’s shoulder she doesn’t remember, but she doesn’t fight it either. She let Carmilla pull her in. Laura let herself be human and want the comfort of another person.

It was warm, and soft, and somehow it brought peace to a subject that normally drove Laura to tears. Carmilla’s fingers traced patterns gently up and down her back, and there was a low hum coming from deep within her partner’s chest. An owl hooted at the moon, and the lazy wind ruffled the leaves, and Laura is content to have this moment with Carmilla. 

Carmilla’s eyes stay trained out the window, and Laura’s are half shut as she enjoys the closeness. “Did she like chocolate as much as you?” Carmilla asked, her voice so gentle, and raspy  
It brought a small giggle from Laura’s center. “Yeah, she did. That’s where I get it from.” 

“Ah, so she’s to blame.” 

Laura nodded, and found that it made her smile. 

“She would make me chocolate milk in the morning, or her famous hot chocolate if I was upset. Her secret ingredient was bailey’s I’m pretty sure,” Laura admitted. Carmilla’s chest rumbled a bit with laughter and it only helped the words flow from her partner more. “She would hide Hershey kisses everywhere for me. I’d find them at the most unexpected times, even though I always knew she was going to do it. She would put them inside a pair of mated socks, on top of my alarm when I was asleep. When I got my first period she put a whole bag in my tampon box.” 

That part makes Carmilla laugh so hard that she broke her own being quiet rule. 

“Shhh,” Laura hissed, placing her finger over her own mouth like they’re twelve and playing hide and seek. “We’re supposed to be on a mission.” They had both kind of forgotten that part. 

Carmilla doesn’t argue with her. She pulled Laura a little tighter to her and settled back in the chair more. 

“Your Mom sounds awesome.” 

“Yeah,” Laura murmured. “She was special.”

Carmilla reached down to tilt Laura’s head up so that her brown eyes were gazing at her. “You’re special too Laura, just like her,” Carmilla whispered. 

It takes her back for a minute. To hear someone compare her to her Mother like that. And for Carmilla to be the one telling her. Is this even Carmilla? Laura has a hard time believing that the woman who’s holding her with such sincerity, and speaking with such softness is the same woman she’s known for a month. 

Laura could have sworn that their faces were inching closer together. Maybe it was as slow as a snail, but it was happening. She couldn’t help but look down at Carmilla’s lips. When she looked back up she realized that Carmilla’s eyes had never stopped staring straight at hers. It was embarrassing to know that she was the one thinking impure thoughts, and Carmilla was the innocent one. 

Laura went to open her mouth, to say something, so that whatever is happening between them stopped, or happened. But Carmilla’s hand clasped over her mouth. The action so sudden that it stunned Laura. Of course the big dumb brunette is ruining the moment, but then Carmilla nodded over at the window, and Laura turned her head enough to see that a figure had appeared. 

They watched as the person slinked over the grass toward the burned emblem. They went down on their knees in the center and a spark of fire came from a lighter. 

“Demonic activity?” Carmilla whispered into the night air. She felt Laura nod against her hand. She released her hold, forgetting she had been keeping the tiny detective quiet. 

They crept back down the ladder, inching toward the edge of the forest to get closer. The suspicious figure had produced a candle and lit it. Carmilla was no expert but devil worshipers were usually a bit more formal. Lighting a candle in the middle of the night could mean nothing. 

“This is weird,” Laura commented. 

Carmilla just nodded. She watched from behind a tree, hoping to mask herself. Laura stood directly behind her crouching low. Two more figures appeared, walking slowly across the field to their friend. They were carrying a dog. 

“No, no, no, no,” Laura chanted, her words saying exactly what Carmilla thought was going to happen. Laura tried to shoot forward, but the brunette grabbed her by the wrist. 

“Don’t. We don’t know what they’re doing yet.” 

“Carmilla I’m not about to let them murder a dog!” Laura hissed. 

The two men placed the animal in front of the candle, and it started to whine. They held it down to stop it from squirming. 

“Carmilla are YOU-“

But when Laura turned back around Carmilla wasn’t there. She blinked at the empty space, and then spun on her heels to see that the brunette was nearly halfway across the field. She was shinning a flashlight in their eyes as she ran to them. Laura’s breath caught in her throat before she darted after her. 

The men scattered, leaving the dog behind. Carmilla didn’t pay much attention to the animal as she went after the shady forms. They broke off and the brunette followed the two that stuck together, figuring it would increase her odds of catching one of them. Laura looked at the dog for a few minutes debating her options. 

“I’ll be back for you, I promise,” she said, and then ran after Carmilla. 

One thing that certainly wasn’t going to be in Laura’s file was that she ran seven miles a day. She knew that because when she caught up to Carmilla, running even with her stride the brunette stared at her stupefied. Laura smiled at her and then passed her. The men were running frantically through the streets of the trailer park shouting weird, undecipherable things. 

“Silas PD stop!” Laura shouted, even though she knew it would accomplish nothing. Some of the park’s tenants had come out to see what all the noise was about. If anything she thought it might help them to know they were the police.   
Laura wondered how far this park went on for, and how much longer they were going to have to run when a shotgun round sounded through the air. Immediately all of the men dove to the ground. The tiny detective stopped dead in her tracks only to be barreled into and thrown to the ground. A body was covering her own before she could even decipher what in the hell was happening. Two more shots rang out, and the body above her pushed her even further into the ground. Laura heard some obscenities being screamed. 

“Cupcake, are you okay?” a voice whispered into her ear. Laura’s eyes blew open to see that it was Carmilla who had her pinned to the ground. The brunette had heard the gunfire and tried to get her out of the open. The realization stunned Laura speechless. 

“Laura,” Carmilla said, this time firmer. Her brown orbs were burning with fire as she stared at her partner waiting for her to say something. She was dare Laura say, worried. It was etched in every crevice of her face. 

“I’m fine. I’m fine,” she sputtered. “Where’d they go? We have to catch them.” 

The loud crackle of the megaphone sputtered, “You can run but you can’t hide,” Aunt Edna’s voice shouted. “Ya sonsofbitches.” Two more shots rang out and Carmilla flinched to cover her up again. 

Laura pushed herself out from under Carmilla and stood up to see the three retreating figures disappear. “Fuck,” she cursed, stomping on the ground. There was no way they’d get to them now. She hadn’t even been able to see their faces. 

Aunt Edna was situated on her pink golf cart about a hundred yards in front of them. “Hey Edna, we need a ride,” Laura signaled. Carmilla got up from the ground and stood besides her dusting the dirt off her leatherjacket. 

“Where?” Carmilla asked, perplexed. She wouldn’t put it past Laura to chase after those guys with her aunt’s golf cart, but she really hoped that wasn’t where it was heading. 

Two minutes later they were at the edge of the field. A dog sat in the center right where Laura had left them. 

“You can’t be serious,” Carmilla groaned. 

Laura ignored her, and got out of the cart making her way over to the animal. It was some kind of husky. She could tell from its grey and white coat. It had one blue eye, and one brown eye. Its head tilted to the side when she got closer to it. 

“Hey boy,” Laura said, noting that it was indeed a boy. 

His ears perked up. “Good boy sitting here and waiting for me. I told you I’d be back for you.” Laura patted her knees and the animal walked over to her with his head down. She pet behind his ears and stroked his head. “Come on boy, let’s get you out of here.” 

Carmilla was on her phone pacing beside the cart when they walked up. Laura could tell she was on the phone with the station filling them in, and probably putting out an alert for three suspicious men. 

“Hold on,” Carmilla said into the receiver. “Hollis what did you get?” 

Laura thought long and hard. “Three men. Six foot, five eleven, and five seven. Judging by their running capabilities I’d put them anywhere from mid-teens to early twenties, but not overly active.” 

Carmilla nodded her understanding and went back to talking. “Come on boy,” Laura said, tapping the back seat of the golf cart with her hand. The dog jumped right up on it and sat staring at her, waging his tail. “Good boy,” Laura cheered, petting him again. 

“I know that dog,” Edna said. “That’s Robbie Jenkins dog. He lives over on Bullshit Boulevard.” 

“On what?” Laura asked, raising an eyebrow. 

“You heard me. The folks here name the streets of the trailer park. Sparky there belongs to Robbie, and he lives on bullshit boulevard,” Edna said, as if it were plain as day. 

Carmilla hung up the phone at that. “Couldn’t give them much, doubt we’ll get anything. There isn’t a cruiser within ten miles of here. Whoever they were, they’re long gone.”

“Damn shame, those sonsofbitches getting away with that. They need to be locked up for animal abuse. If I see one more dead animal on my property I’m going to really start shooting some people,” Edna snapped. Her head cocked in a self-righteous position. 

“Okay, lets calm down Aunt Edna. You can’t just go shooting people. And where did you get that gun?” Carmilla asked, pointing to the sawed-off blaster that had been the source of the bullets. “You’re not supposed to have them while you’re on parole. If I weren’t your niece I’d be arresting you right now,” Carmilla chided. 

“I got to protect what’s mine. And don’t you go giving me lectures about what I can and cannot do Carmilla Constance Popa Karnstein.” 

At the use of her full name Carmilla froze. She doesn’t even want to acknowledge the smirk she saw growing on Laura’s face out of her peripheral or the laugh that accompanied it. 

“Did she just say Consta-“

“No. No she did not,” Carmilla said, holding up her hand in protest, stopping Laura in her tracks. “We need to return this dog and talk to his owner,” she commanded at her aunt trying to divert the attention from her full name use. 

Edna gave her a ‘who you think you talking to’ look, and Carmilla deflated a bit before she muttered, “Please?” 

“That’s more like it,” Edna said, sticking her nose up in the air. Carmilla climbed back into the flying flamingo and they made their way to Bullshit Boulevard. 

Sparky’s owner was a retired construction worker who had to be closing in around seventy. Despite his age he was still relatively built, and tall at about six foot. His arms were huge, but they were more fat than muscle these days. He had a mean scar across his eyebrow, and a gut from all the beer drinking he’d been doing in his retirement. 

“Excuse me sir, we’re with Silas PD and we’d like to ask you a couple questions,” Laura said, formal as ever. 

Robbie stared at her like she was speaking Greek. “Spark, in the house,” he called. The animal jumped off the golf cart, and slipped behind the screen door that his owner held open for him. 

“Edna what’s this about? I’m caught up on my rent,” Robbie said. 

“You remember my niece Carmilla? She’s one of them detectives. Those hoodlums came back tonight Robbie. The ones that done scorched up the field. They had your dog.” 

Robbie scratched his head. “Sparky? I just let him out of the house not an hour ago. He always moseys around at night before I go to bed. You sure they had him?” 

“Positive,” Laura affirmed. 

“Sir, have you noticed anyone unfamiliar interacting with your dog recently?” Carmilla inquired. 

“Uh, no. Can’t say that I have.” Robbie stroked his gray stubble with contemplation. 

“But you said you let him out every night? Does he just wander around?” Laura probed. 

Robbie nodded. “He’s a good boy. He always comes back after he gives his legs a good stretch.” 

“Most of the neighbors know him,” Edna added. “The kids play with him in that there field all the time.” 

At the mention of the forsaken field that was turning into Silas’ own black hole of weird shit, Laura and Carmilla’s heads turned to regard one another. A silent message spoken between them. 

“Anything else unusual either of you’ve seen?” Carmilla asked. 

“No,” Robbie said. 

“Yeah,” Edna said. “Your asses here.” 

Edna cracked up at her own joke, and even Robbie had a good chuckle. Laura fought off a smile, just because Carmilla’s aunt had managed to irritate the brunette. Carmilla blew a breath through her nose and closed her eyes. She reached into her back pocket and retrieved her detective card. 

“Call us if anything changes,” she said, handing Robbie the card. “And thank you for your help.” 

“You might want to keep a closer eye on him for now,” Laura said. She glanced behind Robbie to see the animal regarding her with warm eyes. She smiled at him, and then walked back to the cart. Edna gave them a ride back to the very edge of the field, where the wood met the tall grass. 

“You walking back through there?” she asked, disturbed by the idea.

“Yeah, we’re cops Aunt Edna. We’ll be fine,” Carmilla assured. She placed a kiss on her aunt’s cheek. The woman nodded then her and her cart were off. Carmilla turned on her heel only to find Laura staring at her. 

“What?” 

“Nothing. Just you’re really sweet to her. Despite her being…” Laura’s words dropped off. She wasn’t quite sure how to delicately phrase it. 

“A loon?” Carmilla supplemented. 

Laura laughed. “Yeah, that.” 

“She’s my aunt,” Carmilla said. She shrugged and that was that. To Carmilla it was just that simple. The brunette trudged forward brushing past Laura. Their closeness, though brief, caused the tiny detective to shiver with the thoughts of what had transpired in the hunting shack earlier that night. 

She shook it off and followed after the brunette. 

Leaves crunched beneath their shoes, and the soft dirt left imprints of the souls of their feet. The wind whispered to the night, and the moon sat high in the sky with enough glow to let them see where they were going. 

“Benato has friends.” It was Carmilla who finally broke the silence. She wasn’t entirely sure what she had to say to Laura. So, when in doubt she always chose work. 

“Dog killing friends,” Laura muttered. “This just keeps getting weirder and weirder.” 

Carmilla nodded, and kept her head down. They were both going through their own processes. Every detective had one. It was how they solved the mystery, got to the truth. Laura and Carmilla were still learning how to combine theirs together. Which sometimes called for these pivotal moments of silence, and thinking aloud. 

“What I don’t understand is why they keep putting themselves out in the open like that? If they’re a group of satanic worshipers, why publicize it?” Laura questioned. 

“Obviously their behavior is progressing. The question is how far is it going to escalate.” 

“I really don’t like this.” Laura’s stomach sank. 

“Me either Cupcake. I especially don’t like that the bastards got away.” 

They had reached the car finally, and Carmilla went to the passenger door and held it open for Laura without a second thought. The clear demonstration of manners, and the way Carmilla did it so thoughtlessly kind of stunned Laura. But, she decided not to draw attention to it, and instead just got in the car. Carmilla was still lost in thought, not looking at her as she got into the driver’s side and started the car. 

“Yeah, well I would have had them if your Aunt hadn’t gone all Steve McQueen with a shotgun.” Laura’s lips curled up at the imagery of Edna on her flamingo painted golf cart with a sawed of,f firing into the open night air. Then something that had slipped her mind came back full force. 

Carmilla had tackled her to the ground. 

The shots had been fired, and the brunette had rushed to cover her. 

Holy shit. 

“Carm?” Laura spoke, her voice unsure. She turned to regard the driver of the vehicle whose silhouette was glowing with the moon. The brunette’s face was serious, contemplating, and she was focused on the road ahead. 

“Hmm?” was the half-hearted response she got from her partner. 

“When you heard the shots where did you think they were coming from?” 

The brunette scrunched up her face a bit. Having to answer the question was taking her away from what she was trying to really think about. 

“I didn’t really know Creampuff. I just heard the gunfire.” 

Carmilla had heard shots fired, and gotten her out of the area. She had put Laura’s life before her own. She hadn’t thought much of it when she was ripped out of the chase, and pinned to the ground. But cruising down the road, in the middle of the night, Laura realized her partner had been willing to sacrifice her life for Laura’s. 

“You covered me.” 

She blanched a bit. Her eyes widened slightly, and her brow furrowed. “Well, yeah,” Carmilla said. “You kept running like an idiot instead of taking cover.” 

“Yeah, but you could have just ducked out of the way. Could have screamed or tried to get my attention.” 

“Like you would listen,” Carmilla scoffed. 

Fair enough. 

“Thank you,” Laura muttered quietly in the cab. 

Carmilla took her eyes off the road for a second and glanced over at Laura. “Don’t. It’s what partners do.” 

And that was what the brunette had told herself. It wasn’t because Laura meant anything to her. She was her partner, despite Carmilla not liking that situation, and you always covered your partner. Carmilla would take a bullet for a stranger. Laura was not special. It was definitely not because she felt anything for Laura Hollis. Nope. Not possible.

\------------------------

Laura was startled awake from the sound of her phone ringing. Files and papers scattered everywhere as she jolted up in bed. She had fallen asleep in the middle of working, again. She really needed to get a life. Her hand felt aimlessly around the bedside table for the device. 

“Hello?” she croaked into the phone. 

“Hey Pumpkin!” 

“Dad?”

“Did I wake you up? I’m sorry Sweetie. I figured you’d be awake by now.” 

Laura glanced over to the clock and saw that it was nearly 8 in the morning on Saturday of all days. Her Dad didn’t have much of life these days either, and with his only child having flown the coop he didn’t know what to do with himself. 

“Works got me keeping late hours,” she explained. Laura wiped some of the sleep from her eyes and stretched out the kinks in her back. A fierce yawn ripped through her and her Dad chuckled on the other end of the phone. 

“I’ll bet. Just don’t go letting it take over your life now Sweetie. You need to get out and make some time for yourself too.” 

Laura let out a humorless laugh at that. “Who does that?” she joked, as she slipped out of her bed and padded her way to the kitchen. She flipped on the coffee maker and scavenged for some creamer in her bare refrigerator. 

“Most people,” he teased. “Just don’t let that new job of yours take over your life. Get out some, go do something. Hey! Maybe you could even start writing again.” 

“Dad,” Laura whined. “My job is really demanding, and this is what I wanted. I’m happy doing this.” 

The smell of coffee brewing seemed to help her eyes inch open wider so she could pass for living. Laura ran her fingers through her hair and tossed it back out of her eyes. She glanced around at her apartment and saw that it was in utter disarray. Work really had been keeping her busy. She hadn’t even unpacked all the boxes yet, and her place was in desperate need of some furniture and décor. Maybe her Dad had a point. 

“I know Pumpkin. And I’m so proud of you. I just want to make sure you’re not going to have any regrets later on.” 

Laura held her breath. Regrets? That was a powerful word. 

“Well I’m glad one of us worries about me,” she retorted, hoping to relieve some of the tension. Her Dad laughed and she poured herself a cup of black coffee. “Thanks Dad. I really appreciate you caring enough to check up on me. I promise I’ll try to make time for myself.” 

“Good.” Laura could just picture his mustache twitching with satisfaction at that. It made her smile faintly. 

“Speaking of which when are you going to come visit me?” she asked. Teddy Hollis never left Glendale unless it was for a fishing weekend or hell was freezing over. But he had said he’d make an exception for his beloved daughter. 

“As soon as I get an invitation.” 

“How about next month?” Laura offered, glancing at her calendar that had been stuck to her refrigerator with whale butt magnets. 

“Why not? I think I can swing it. I’ll have to talk to my boss about getting off work, but otherwise I’m all yours.” 

“Great Dad,” Laura said. “It’s a date.” 

“Okay Pumpkin. Now I’m going to have to let you go! I have to meet Uncle Bart down at the hardware store to help him pick out a new snow blower.” 

“You do that Dad. Love you, talk to you soon.” 

“I love you too.” 

Their call ended and Laura finished what she could of the strong coffee. Saturday was technically one of her days off, and usually she spent it doing more work. But maybe today she could use a break. Her apartment could certainly stand for her to give it some attention. 

So Laura showered, put on a pair of jeans and set off for Silas Town Square. Unlike most of the civilized world Silas still had the small town shops for everything instead of one big centralized store somewhere. Main Street ran smack dab down the center of the seaside village with cobblestone paths, and charming old buildings that housed family run stores, and quaint knick knack shops. There was even a pavilion in the center of the road, with some benches and gardens laid out. A great view of the water meeting the shore could be seen from the center of it all. 

It was a beautiful fall day and Laura was cozily bundled up in her gray pea coat and wool scarf. Her mittens and the cup of coffee she had stopped for at the small café on the corner kept her hands warm as the wind nipped at her cheeks. She smiled as the leaves blew around the walkway. It was picturesque really and she found herself enjoying her new home for the first time. 

Strangers smiled and said hello, and she did the same back to them. Even if Silas was weird it had its own unique beauty. Her first stop was the hardware store where she picked up some cans of paint and few other household items she would need. The owner of the store helped her carry her bags to her car and when she tried to tip him, he politely refused. She thanked him graciously and made her way down the street to the only furniture store in town that did not have antiques. 

She managed to find a desk, an armchair, a new dresser, and a few other pieces that she was in desperate need of. Thankfully they delivered and once she set the date and time she hoped over to the pharmacy/drug store to grab some essentials and get some of the photos she had grabbed from home developed. From there she went to the frame store, the flower shop, the record store, and she even popped into one store that didn’t sell anything in particular, but had a lot of neat little trinkets that could definitely help Laura decorate her place. Pretty soon she found herself stopping in almost every store on the block, and she wasn’t mad about it in the slightest. It was exhilarating. 

Feeling productive and slightly elated from her usual woes, she decided to take her Dad’s advice. So, she popped into the parchment and book store intent to buy herself a journal. Laura was browsing over some nice leather bound editions when she felt a tug on the tail of her coat. She glanced down to see a blue eyed boy peering up at her. He had black curls, and a wide tooth grin and couldn’t have been older than three. 

“Why hello,” she said smiling at him. She kneeled down to his level and he only smiled harder. “And who might you be?”

“Emory,” he stated rather confidently. He was too cute.

“Well Emory, I don’t suppose you might want to help me pick out one of these?” Laura asked, gesturing to the various blank books in front of them. He bit his lip in concentration and then grabbed at a bright yellow notebook. 

“This one!” 

“Lovely,” Laura said, picking the journal up and going over it with him. Emory seemed impressed with his choice and Laura was as well. “You have been very helpful, sir. Thank you.” 

She smiled brightly at the child and he returned the expression. Laura was so caught up with the boy that she hadn’t even thought about where his parents could be until a thundering voice came from within the stacks of books. 

“Emory James where are you?” 

The little boys eyes blew wide and he scrambled to run to the voice just as its owner revealed herself from behind the shelves. Laura stood up ram rood straight as Carmilla came into view.

Sure enough the little boy ran into the brunette’s awaiting arms excitedly. Carmilla pulled him into an embrace and kissed the top of his head. “What have I told you about running off?” she scolded in the gentlest of ways. 

Emory smiled bashfully and nuzzled into her neck a bit more. 

“You’re not going to get off that easy,” Carmilla teased, but judging by the smile on her face it was. 

“I helped the lady,” Emory said, pointing directly at Laura who was frozen in the space-time continuum. The blonde waved not knowing what else to do, and Carmilla actually laughed. 

“Of course,” she said coming to stand next to the tiny detective. “It had to be you.” 

“Hey Carm,” Laura said glancing between the boy and Carmilla. It was such an odd thing to see her partner holding a child. Mostly because she assumed that Carmilla pretty much hated anything that breathed, and she looked so damn at ease with him. It was like she was meant to hold children. “Just picking up some…” Laura trailed off, holding up the yellow journal as explanation.

“Another notebook Cutie?” Carmilla raised an eyebrow and a tiny smile crept up on her lips. 

“This one’s different,” Laura stated. She found herself anxiously smiling back at Carmilla. There were a million questions to ask this woman. Most of them were about the child she was holding. Was he her son? Who was his father? Had Carmilla had a heterosexual past? Despite her budding curiosity Laura found herself at a loss for the actual words. 

Carmilla was about to speak when Emory’s head popped up with excitement. “Park!”

“Yes little Monster, we are going to the park. But first I need to get our books,” Carmilla said, staring affectionately into the sparkling blue eyes of the boy. 

“Shall we, Hollis?” Carmilla said, gesturing to the front of the store where the register was. Laura followed after her partner and the little boy with her yellow journal. 

A petite woman with a blonde ponytail and giant glasses was perched on the counter, reading a book. She smiled brightly as Carmilla and Emory approached with Laura tagging behind them. 

“Well, if it isn’t my best customers!” she greeted, cheerfully. 

“Hey Jessa,” Carmilla said, adjusting Emory on her hip. It was clear that these three had some kind of relationship. To think of her partner outside of work was strange. To think of Carmilla Karnstein leading some semblance of a normal existence where she has a child in her life, and is a frequenter at the local bookstore is even stranger for Laura. 

Jessa rang up all the books that the child and Carmilla had stacked together. She placed them in a brown paper bag and handed them over. “Thanks, Jessa,” Carmilla said, glancing to Emory. 

“Yeah thanks!” he cheered, giving the girl a high five. 

“Anytime guys.” 

Carmilla moved out of the way and Laura went to put her tiny notebook on the counter. She went to grab her wallet when Jessa said, “Oh! Carmilla already took care of that.” 

Laura whipped her around to the see brunette wasn’t even bothering to look at her. Her feigned indifference routine was starting to get old. 

“Did you buy my notebook?” Laura asked, not sure whether to be insulted or flattered. 

“Emory insisted,” Carmilla said, nodding to the little boy. “He did pick it out after all.” 

“Thank you Emory,” Laura said, not actually believing that for a moment. Maybe there was a kind bone in Carmilla’s body. 

“Is she coming to the park with us?” Emory asked, looking intently at Carmilla. 

“I don’t know. Why don’t you ask her?”

The little boy’s crystal blue eyes were hopeful as he looked back to Laura. The dirty blonde’s mouth hung open a bit. She wasn’t exactly expecting a park outing, but then again turning down that cute little face was not something she wanted to do. 

“Sure,” she found herself saying, despite every part of her body telling her to run away from this weird world she had dropped into. 

Laura and Carmilla walked to the park, which was only three blocks over from the bookstore. Emory waddled between them, holding on to Carmilla’s hand. After the first block he reached up and took Laura’s. She was a bit surprised at how easily Emory had seemed to warm to her, but maybe that was just children. Laura didn’t exactly have a ton of experience in that department. The whole situation didn’t seem to bother Carmilla in the slightest, and perhaps that was just a part of her whole apathetic attitude toward life. 

Except Carmilla cared about this child. And that intrigued Laura. 

When they reached the park Emory tore off from them at a rate of a child having spotted free ice cream. Carmilla shouted for him to be careful but there wasn’t a chance he had heard it. The brunette laughed at his excitement and kept her eyes trained on him as she staggered up the play equipment stairs to get to the slides. 

“He is exceedingly cute,” Laura complimented. 

“Just like his father,” Carmilla said. Her tone was bittersweet though. Laura frowned at that. 

“Go ahead and ask Cupcake.” 

“Ask what?” 

Carmilla turned to look at Laura and raised her eyebrow. She was starting to know Laura a little too much for the woman’s liking. 

“Okay, well you can’t just ambush me with an adorable child outside of work and not expect me to have a million questions. You’ve never even mentioned him, not that you’re exactly talkative about yourself.” 

“He’s my nephew,” Carmilla interrupted. That meant that Carmilla had siblings. How did Laura not know that? 

“I thought you were an only child?” 

“Why would you think that?” Carmilla asked, amused. 

“I don’t know. You’ve never said anything about your family. You don’t have pictures of anybody on your desk. You never take personal calls.” 

“Wow, way to go on making judgements about me Hollis. Not everybody expresses love the way you deem acceptable.” 

“What? No. I’m just saying you don’t seem like you have attachments, on purpose.” 

“Well, I do. Emory and his Dad happen to be two of them.” 

“So you have a brother?” 

“Yes.” 

“Is he younger or older?” 

“Younger.” 

The steady questioning about her sibling seemed to make Carmilla uncomfortable. There was definitely something under the surface, but Laura wasn’t sure if she was allowed to look beneath. 

“Do you see him a lot?” 

“No.” 

“Carmilla, if you don’t want to talk about it you don’t have to. You told me to ask so I’m asking.” 

“I forgot how much you do ask Cupcake,” Carmilla half-heartedly joked. “Will isn’t exactly in Emory’s life right now, or mine. I spend as much time as I can with him when I’m not working, and you know how little that really is.” The brunette seemed weighed down by the confession. Like she was actually feeling something besides aggravation and broodiness. 

Laura reached out and took her hand. She squeezed in gently and Carmilla’s big brown eyes looked into hers. There was a lot of pain behind them. 

“I’ve known Emory for all of five seconds and that little boy loves you. Regardless of whatever is going on with your brother that kind of love is earned. You’re doing something right.” 

“Who knew you could be so insightful, Creampuff,” Carmilla joked, trying to brush off Laura’s kindness. 

“Hey,” Laura said, tugging on her hand to get her attention. “You don’t have to pretend like you don’t care Carm. It’s okay to love your nephew and want to be there for him even if you don’t think you’re doing a good job of it. Even though I’m willing to argue that you are.” 

Carmilla’s eyes were pouring into her and they were more intense than Laura had ever remembered them. She was nearly hypnotized, but she reminded herself that she was the one comforting her partner. The brunette’s eyes left hers thankfully, to glance over her shoulder as Emory took a tumble from one of the stepping stools he had been standing on. Immediately Carmilla lunged in his direction, but Laura’s grip on her prevented Carmilla from taking more than a step. 

“Hold on there Tiger,” she said. Carmilla seemed frustrated, but relented as Emory got up from the ground, dusted himself off and climbed back on. “See, he’s fine.” 

Carmilla’s shoulders relaxed, and she let out a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding. 

“You’re sweet.” 

“What?” Carmilla replied, snapping out of her mother bear mode. 

Laura giggled at her reaction. “Being all overprotective. It’s cute.” 

“Cupcake, that is not a word associated with me.” 

“Oh my God. Get over yourself,” Laura said, huffing. 

Carmilla smiled as Laura’s irritation for her returned. While the lines of her and Laura’s hatred for one another had been blurring recently, she still enjoyed bugging the ever-loving crap out of her. She was more accustomed to those terms than this mysterious emotional connection they had been sharing lately. 

“What’s it for?” Carmilla asked, changing the subject. She pointed down to the notebook that Laura still had clutched in her hand. 

Laura bit her lip nervously, and it did something to Carmilla’s stomach. “Uh, it’s for writing,” Laura said, really fast. 

“Obviously, it’s a notebook. But you already have a ton of those. So, why this one?” 

“It’s for recreational purposes.” 

“So you write more than just notes about notes?” Carmilla teased. 

“Yes!” Laura shouted. “Well, I used to,” she quickly amended. “I haven’t in awhile, and I wanted to try to start again. It’s stupid really.” 

“It’s not stupid,” Carmilla, corrected her, shaking her head. “If you like writing than write Laura.” 

Laura. Her name sounded so wondrously odd whenever Carmilla said it. And it wasn’t an often enough occurrence. 

“I will,” Laura said, with a little more bravado in her voice. 

“Good.” 

“Right.” 

Emory picked that time to run up to his Aunt. Screaming for her to push him on the swing. Carmilla happily obliged him, tossing the tike into the children’s harness and pushing him. He shrieked with joy and Laura went around to the front of the swing to pretend to grab his feet when he came close. He seemed overjoyed by the action, and it made Carmilla’s smile even wider. 

Laura wondered how she got there. How she came to be spending her day off with Carmilla and her nephew she didn’t even know existed until an hour ago. And as strange as it should be, it wasn’t. 

Emory became ragged from running around outside for a solid two hours. At his request Carmilla picked him up and they started walking back toward the bookstore. The little one rested his head on Carmilla’s shoulder teetering on the edge of sleep as they walked along. 

“You’re good with him,” Laura said. 

Carmilla tightened her grip around Emory a little. “Thanks.” She took what Laura said to heart. 

They reached the brunette’s BMW that was parked outside the bookstore. Carmilla buckled Emory into his car seat. 

“Goodbye, Laura,” Emory said, his voice laced with sleep. 

“Bye, Emory,” she said, waving as the door closed. 

Carmilla turned to face Laura. She shoved her hands in her leather jacket and leaned against the car. It was no secret that Carmilla was exceedingly attractive. It was just Laura was too distracted by her depressing personality to notice usually. Except she wasn’t being so annoying today, and Laura noticed. She really noticed, and that was not a good thing. 

“I have to get Emory back to his Mom,” Carmilla said. 

“That’s a good idea,” Laura said, snapping out the trance Carmilla had put her in. “You go do that. You go away, and do that.” Laura started taking a few steps backward needing to get out of the headspace that this whole day was putting her in. “And I’m going to go home. Okay, bye.” 

Laura turned on her heel and darted in the other direction. She heard Carmilla call out a faint goodbye, but she was too busy power walking as if her life depended on it. She needed to get to her car, and back to her apartment. That was all she could focus on, because anything else might lead her to explore whatever she was feeling toward Carmilla at the moment. 

But she didn’t need to. She knew what it was and the second she sat in her car she cursed at herself as she let her head fall onto the steering wheel. 

“Worst crush ever.”


	5. Boom

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Name change cause I wasn't feeling the old one.

“Calling all units. All units. Shots fired,” the radio sang. 

Carmilla flipped the siren on of the unmarked police vehicle and sped up. Laura glanced over at her questionably. 

“What are you doing?” 

They were detectives, not beat patrol. They didn’t respond to those kinds of calls unless it was an AHOD. 

The brunette reached down to the radio, “Unit 23 responding,” she said into the mic. That was all the answer Laura was going to get from her. That and Carmilla turning on the sirens and slamming her foot on the accelerator like they were outrunning a tidal wave. 

Guess they were going to a gunfight. 

If Laura thought Carmilla was a shit driver before, she excelled her expectations of shitness as she zoomed around corners and hit about 90mph on the straightaways. They went from being ten minutes out to three in under two. It was a record. 

“I’m going to throw up,” Laura said, bracing herself against the dash and the window. Jesus himself wasn’t going to save her, let alone a seatbelt if Carmilla so much as hit a pebble. They bounced along like they were on some kind of safari rather than a paved road. They nearly caused an accident in a four-way intersection that Carmilla completely ignored. Stop signs were optional if you wore leather, apparently. 

“I lied. First I’m going to die, then I’m going to throw up,” Laura wailed over the siren. Fuck shots fired, she’d be lucky if she survived the car ride. 

Carmilla hit the emergency break, spiraling the back end of the car angling them perfectly to take a right turn and Laura had to wonder if she had a past life as a secret streetcar racer. The unmarked cruiser slowed down a fraction only to completely pop a curve, and sail into the air. Laura let out a piercing scream that any One Direction fan would envy, saw her life flash before her eyes, and then they landed in the center of someone’s overgrown lawn. 

“It’s over!” she cried, opening her eyes and expecting to be at heaven’s pearly gates. She looked up and saw a crackhouse instead. 

Life’s funny sometimes. 

Laura was busy checking that every inch of her body was still in tact and trying to get her lungs to work again when she heard Carmilla cock her gun. 

Oh, right. That. 

The brunette was up and out of the car in a flash. “Fucking A,” Laura breathed into the cab. Then she opened the door, and stepped out onto the grass. She un-holstered her weapon and made sure it was loaded as she followed behind her partner to the front of the house. 

Well, at one point it had been a house. Now it just looked like a decrypted haunted shack with plywood windows and siding coated in spray paint. The front door hung loosely on two hinges and swung with the wind. It had been kicked in, hopefully. Carmilla abruptly swerved and faced Laura. She stared her dead in the eyes. Most officers would have been scared, some might have been nervous, but Carmilla was completely void of any humanity at that point. 

“You follow me. Keep your gun drawn, and your eyes open,” Carmilla urged. Laura wanted to remind Carmilla that she was not her superior officer, and just because she let her call the shots most of the time did not mean she was in charge, but there were more pressing matters to be dealt with first, like living. 

“I better not get shot,” Laura grumbled, as she lifted her gun into ready position.

They were the first to arrive on the scene, but if the sirens wailing in the distance were any indication it wouldn’t be for long. 

“Silas PD,” Carmilla yelled, standing motionless with her gun pointed into the gaping hole. There was no response. She motioned for Laura to follow her in, and the blonde kept tight to her backend as they entered the house. 

It was completely deserted. Or so it appeared. 

The wind swept through the room from the loose floors and the broken windows. The inside was just as bad as the outside of the house. Laura hoped that whatever poor creatures lived there had left a long time ago. They cleared the rooms one by one. The kitchen, dinning room, and living room turned up empty. The closet was a bust. 

“I don’t think anyone’s here,” Laura whispered. 

The sound of soft thudding broke the silence. It was coming from upstairs. Then someone clearly ran across the top floor. Carmilla nodded toward the stairs, a silent communication between them. They took them slowly. The brunette in front, the blonde in tow. When they reached the top of the stairs, the two women were faced with an empty doorway and four doors. The corridor stretched down the length of the house, and at the very end of it there was probably the only window that was still fully intact. 

They stood at the top of the stairs for a few idle seconds with nothing but the sound of their breathing filling the space. Sweat trickled down Laura’s back. Then Carmilla did something really strange. She spoke. 

“Kirsch?” Carmilla called out, like she had let herself into her best friend’s house. 

At this moment Laura’s eyes snapped open wide. Carmilla knew someone in the house. That’s why she had been acting like a maniac. 

“Wilson!” Carmilla shouted, her voice firmer. 

An oversized man-child with a shaved head popped out from behind one of the doors. He was shirtless and covered in what Laura hoped was raspberry syrup. 

“Not cool, scary hottie,” he hissed.

Bam. 

A gunshot rang out. It blew a huge hole in the side of the wall next to the door where Wilson had been. Wood splinters and spackling spewed out everywhere. The house moved, the walls shuttered, and it felt like it might split in half. Judging by the impact someone was armed with a canon. 

A man ambled out of the hole that had just been blasted through the wall. He was carrying a very illegal double barrel shotgun that had been sawed off. “There you are!” he screamed.

“Police. Put your weapon down!” Laura shouted from behind Carmilla. 

The gunslinger turned and smiled at them and another shot rang out. Everything seemed to slow down. Carmilla turned around and grabbed Laura. Her intent was to pull her to the ground, but instead Laura tore away from her grip and fell face first into the hallway and floundered while the brunette went down on a knee. He fired a second shot off, and what was left of the window behind them blew out. Glass shattered everywhere, pieces of the ceiling fell, and the house shook fearfully. 

“This place is going to fall down on us!” Laura screamed. 

“Hey don’t shoot at my friend!” Wilson shouted. Like a bull seeing Red the shaved head guy charged the shotgun slinger side tackling him to the ground. They went down like a ton of bricks and began to roll around on the floor, the gun wedged between them. 

“Are you alright?” Carmilla asked urgently, her eyes fixated intently on the blonde who was lying next to her even though her mind should have been with Kirsch. 

“Just peachy,” Laura answered, noting that everything was still in tact. 

Carmilla nodded, and then swept her head back up to where the men were wrestling. She hesitated and Laura huffed. “Go!” she yelled. 

She was off like a horse out of the gate, leaving her partner to get off the ground. Laura got up in time to see Carmilla was trying to pry the half-naked guy off the guy with a gun. There weren’t many scenarios where this situation was going to end well. 

Laura took in a deep breath and screamed, “HEY,” and everyone stopped squirming around for a second and stared at her like well-trained dogs. 

It was a brief moment that didn’t last. The guy with the gun shoved Kirsch off of him and scrambled into one of the rooms, slamming the door behind him. 

“Kirsch, what the hell?” Carmilla asked. It was the first time Laura had ever heard her partner sound slightly distressed. A weirdly refreshing change from her usual apathetic state. 

“It’s not my fault scary hottie. He just came in here and started shooting. I was busy ironing a waffle, and then boom!” His blue eyes blew wide as if he was telling the miraculous tale of how human life began. 

“People don’t just shoot at people,” Carmilla stated, irritated. 

Boom. 

The guy shot another hole through the wall. He missed the threesome by about two feet, but drywall and wood spattered everywhere. They all hit the deck once again. 

“This is ridiculous,” Laura seethed. “We can’t just sit here and let him keep shooting.” 

Technically Laura was right. Technically, after the first time he fired at them it was room enough to shoot back. 

“I’m telling you dude’s crazy,” the bald guy said. 

They were all laying down sleepover style on the floor, lined up like a bunch of burritos. Maybe if they put their heads together they could get out alive. 

“We are Silas PD. You need to put down your weapon, or we are going to have to come in after you,” Laura called from the ground. It was troubling that being shot at repeatedly didn’t really instill any sense of fear in her. No, it really just pissed the tiny detective off more. 

Laura’s grip around her gun tightened a little bit as slips of fury swept through her. She pushed herself up off the ground and swung the door to the man’s hiding place open, barrel pointing straight at him. Where she got the balls to do that, she’d never know. 

The room was relatively small. It had at one point been designed to be a child’s bedroom. The floors were old and worn wood, the wallpaper was peeling, and the only window in the room was bare of any glass. It seemed fitting for all this nonsense. 

The gunman was huddled toward the window with his gun pointed right at Laura. They stared down their guns at one another. 

“Put the gun down and get on your knees,” Laura said. 

“Over my dead body,” he spat. Then he pulled the trigger and fired. Laura tried to move, tried to get out of the way, but her body was hit by something hard and she felt herself being lifted off the ground. The sound of the bullet being fired burned in her ears, and her breath was swept from her lungs. 

Next thing she knew Laura was out in the hallway again, thrown over Kirsch’s shoulder. 

“Where is Carm?” she asked. 

“In there!” he said. 

She hadn’t seen Carmilla in the room. Laura had left her on the floor in the hallway. 

Two more shots were fired, but it wasn’t from the shotgun. Glass shattered somewhere, and there was a muffled scream. Carmilla came barreling out of the room running for dear life. 

“Fucking move,” she yelled, grabbing Kirsch by the arm and directing him toward the end of the hallway. He followed after her with Laura bouncing away over his shoulders screaming for him to put her down. 

They ran down toward the end of the hallway where the window was. Carmilla yelled, “Jump,” and shoved Kirsch into the glass. It broke, sending him and Laura tumbling out and Carmilla dove after them. About five seconds later the entire second story of the house blew up. Fire shot out the windows and cracks, and a loud boom echoed through the entire neighborhood. Flames poured out like lava, and a big blast of heat swept through the air. 

The three escapees fell through the air in a jumble of bodies like a bunch of flying squirrels. They landed in a heap on top of a set of overgrown rose bushes. It was a blessing that the owners hadn’t taken the time to garden in about 15 years, because laziness saved them from a couple of broken bones. 

The top floor of the house was completely engulfed in flames, the tips of the fire reaching high into the sky. The house made a loud wailing sound and then the second story collapsed, and the house fell in on itself. 

“What the fuck,” Laura said, staring up at the flames in disbelief. 

“AW Mannn,” Kirsch whined from beneath the two women. “My landlord is going to be so pissed.” 

\-------------------------------------------------

When Detective Karnstein and Hollenstein finally made it back to the station they looked as if they had been in a brawl. Carmilla had bits of a bush stuck in her hair, and parts of her clothes were singed from the fire. Laura had cuts and bruises all along her body and she had basically sweated through her clothing from the heat of the fire. They were staggering at a very slow pace, sore from the two-story swan dive they had taken. 

Captain Lawrence was sitting on their conjoined desks waiting ever so patiently. She had gotten the call about two members of her unit being involved in an explosion. When her heart had started beating again, and they explained that the officers were unharmed she had never felt such relief. And of course she had known exactly who the dynamic duo were. When she saw the state of them she had to cover up the slight smile that spread over her face. They were so utterly ridiculous it was fantastic. 

They stopped dead in front of her. 

“You two look like you’ve been having fun,” she teased. 

Carmilla grimaced and Laura shut her eyes and shook her head. 

“Tell me, how do the two of you manage to blow up a crack den when I sent you out on a donut run?” 

Laura pointed to Carmilla. 

“I didn’t know he had a grenade when we went in there,” she said, turning to her partner in fury. They had obviously had this conversation several times on the ride over, and still weren’t agreeing. 

“Yes, well, next time maybe we should wait for back up before we go running into a death trap,” Laura snapped. 

“Who uses grenades anymore?” Danny chimed in, puzzled by the old school method. 

“Apparently crazy men with shotguns,” Laura answered, smartly. She dug down into the back of her pants and pulled out a rather long twig. “That thing has been sticking me in the butt for the past ten minutes,” she huffed, throwing the branch into the waste bin. 

“Why did you two respond to the call?” Danny asked, getting back to her original question. 

“It was Kirsch’s house,” Carmilla answered. 

Captain Lawrence’s eyes grew wide, and her face suddenly got serious. She stood up out of concern. 

“I heard the call come out and I rushed over.” 

Danny looked pained. Like she was holding back so many things at once, but it might just kill her. 

“He’s alright. His fat ass landed on top of me.” Carmilla answered Danny’s unspoken question. Her face washed of relief and she let out a deep breath she had been holding in. 

“Where is he?” Danny asked. 

“Lock up. He had a bunch of pills on him without a prescription,” Carmilla said, as if that were no surprise. Judging from Danny’s unhappy facial expression it was a normal disappointment. 

“Uh, not to cut in here. But how do you two know this guy?” Laura asked, wanting in on the story. 

“He’s an old flame of the Cap’s,” Carmilla said. Danny looked as if she might murder the brunette in the middle of the bullpen. 

“He’s also Will’s best friend,” Danny retorted. 

So Will hung out with drug addicts? Laura wasn’t really sure what it all meant. Her co-workers were really good at being vague. It was basically a part of their profession. 

“Okay. I’m going home,” Carmilla said, making her way for the door. 

“Me too. My body feels like one giant ache right now,” Laura whined. 

Lawrence shook her head as she watched the two detectives amble out together. When they were gone she made her way downstairs to the holding cells. 

“I need to see Wilson Kirsch,” she told the clerk. He led her back to the last cell. 

He was sitting on the bench. He only had a pair of jeans on, no shirt, no shoes. His head was shaved which was a change since the last time she’d seen him. He was hunched in on himself, with his head nearly between his legs. His body was covered in cuts that had been medically taken care of. Her heart broke a little at the sight. 

The clerk opened the cell door and he looked up from his bunk. Danny asked the clerk to leave them. 

“Hey D-Bear,” he said, hesitantly as he got up from his seat. He shoved his hands in his back pockets to keep himself from reaching out for her. 

Danny strode across the room and pulled him into a fierce hug. At first he was doubtful, but eventually he returned the embrace. 

“I thought for a second you were dead,” she said in his ear. She was trying desperately not to cry. 

“I’m alright,” he said, pulling her in tighter to him. 

She jerked away from him and put a good amount of distance between them. Gone was her concerned demeanor. She was all ridged edges and serious business. The cop in her was coming out. 

“Pills?” It wasn’t a question. Hell, it was an accusation. 

His face dropped. 

“Danny I’m clean. You can test me. I just had some left over that I was trying to unload, honest.” 

“Save it,” she snapped. She had heard his excuses one too many times. It was never what he said. “Someone came into your house and blew it up Kirsch. You can’t just tell me you were out of it. That doesn’t just happen.” 

“It did!” he argued. 

“Look, I didn’t come down here for this. I came down here to make sure you were alive. There’s nothing I can do for you this time. You’re on your own.” 

“I wasn’t looking for anything,” he mumbled. 

“Yeah, well, good.” She huffed and drew back her shoulders. She signaled for the guard to come and unlock the cell. She stepped outside of it and listened as it clinked close. 

“I haven’t seen him,” Kirsch said. 

Danny turned back to look at him. 

“I know,” she said. No one had in months. She had put out an alert, filed a missing person’s report, and sent out his picture to most of the patrols. Nothing had turned up. 

“You think he’s…ya know?” he asked. 

Danny shrugged her shoulders. “I have no idea.” 

\---------------------------------------------

Carmilla was dead on her feet. All she wanted to do when she walked through the door was pass out. She stripped down, throwing her clothes down the narrow hallway that led to the laundry room. She’d deal with it later. 

Her stomach grumbled so loud that she knew she wouldn’t be able to put off eating much longer. She headed to the kitchen grabbing a protein bar and a grape soda. She had half the bar down her throat when her phone went off. 

She wanted to ignore it but the thought of something being wrong with Emory made her go pick through her pants to find it. ‘Little One’ was lighting up across her screen. She debated on answering but huffed and slid the button across. 

“Cupcake, it’s been all of twenty minutes. I need more time to recuperate before you go blaming me for not having psychic powers.” 

“I’m not going to yell at you,” Laura said. Her voice was different, more calm, serene even. She was tired definitely, but it was almost like her spirit had lessened. 

“What’s wrong?” 

“Nothing’s wrong. I’m just… I don’t know what I am. I don’t even know why I called you.” 

“Me either,” Carmilla joked. She heard a half-hearted attempt at a laugh come from Laura. Her partner was really down. “You don’t need an excuse to call me Laura.” 

It was true enough. They were co-workers. If Laura wanted to call her it didn’t have to be for any particular reason. Of course, Carmilla was insinuating that on some level they were friends of sorts with the open invitation to blow up her phone at will. 

“Thanks,” she mumbled into the phone. 

“What are you doing right now Cupcake?” Carmilla asked, making conversation. She was still only in her underwear and the thought of carrying on a phone conversation with Laura like that seemed odd. So, she paddled toward her bedroom in search of dry clothes. 

“Laying in my bed,” she responded. “I was just thinking about today, and everything really.” 

“Keeping you up at night?” Carmilla asked, knowing that nonsense all too well. That was the thing about being a cop. You never left your work at the office. The brunette rummaged through her dresser and pulled on an oversized Silas PD t-shirt

“It’s seven o’clock,” Laura retorted. “But, yeah. I guess. What are you doing?” 

“The same thing,” Carmilla said, flopping down onto her mattress. There was almost no better feeling. She turned her head, letting it sink into the pillow. Her eyes caught sight of the photos on her bedside table. 

There were two. One was of her and Emory at his second birthday. His smile was wide as he sat on her lap and blew out his candles. The other was a picture of her and Will. They were kids, her little brother no more than five in the photo. Carmilla had a dreadful set of pigtails and a gap in her teeth. They had been swimming all day at the country club their parents belonged to. They were playing in the pool, Will attached to Carmilla’s back, both of them beaming into the camera. 

“I can’t believe that house blew up,” Laura said, breaking the daze that Carmilla had been in. 

“Just be happy it wasn’t a meth lab. Then the whole street would have been toast.”

“Does what we do…does it ever make you scared?” 

“Every damn day,” Carmilla answered. “But I’d rather be battling evil than becoming it. What we do is worth it.”

“Yeah. It is.” 

“Cupcake, you’re not going to be able to save everyone.” Carmilla glanced over to Will’s smiling face. “You’re going to have to learn to forgive yourself for that one.” What a hypocrite she was becoming. 

“Can I ask you a question?” Laura’s voice was hesitant. She knew Carmilla wasn’t one for personal inquiries except in the rare moments of intimacy they seemed to be having. 

“Depends on the question.” 

“That guy today, Kirsch? Was he really Will’s best friend?” 

Carmilla swallowed down a lump in her throat. “Yeah, he’s also Emory’s godfather. Will and Wilson have been friends since Kindergarten. He’s a weird form of a little brother to me.” 

There were pictures of Wilson in her house too. One was hung up in the hallway. It had been taken right after his and Will’s high school graduation, the boys in cap and gown and Carmilla wearing a tasteful black dress. They were all laughing as the boys had squished her into sandwich hug. The other was of them at the hospital after Emory was born. They were both leaning over his little crib, smiling. 

A dead silence drifted over them. Laura had a few other questions, but she didn’t want to push. Carmilla had given her something and that was progress for them. 

“I’m glad we got him out of there safe,” Laura said. 

“Me too.” 

“Carm?”

“Yeah, Cupcake?” 

“Thank you for answering your phone.” 

“Anytime Cupcake.” And Carmilla had to admit to herself, that she meant that. 

\--------------------------------------

When Carmilla floundered into work a little earlier than usual she found Laura already at their workstation. She had a huge cup of coffee in front of her. The thought of Laura Hollis on caffeine was scary. The brunette approached her partner with as much caution as she would a caged wild animal. Laura’s hair was stringy around her face, and she had purple circles under her eyes. 

“How long have you been here?” Carmilla asked. 

Laura’s head popped up like a jack in the box. “Since two this morning,” she chirped. She grabbed her coffee and took a dangerously large gulp. 

“And how many of those have you had?” Carmilla pointed to the venti cup on the desk. She was praying that it wasn’t filled with espresso otherwise her partner was probably going to have a heart attack or spontaneously combust from energy overload. 

“Four?” Laura raised her eyebrow and drained the last bit of her coffee. She chucked the cup into the trashcan where there were clearly five other cups. 

“Oh boy,” Carmilla mumbled to herself. They were in for one of hell of a day. 

Danny appeared next to Carmilla, and she too took part in staring at Laura, clearly worried. 

“How long has she been here?” she whispered to Carmilla. 

“Too long,” was her short reply. 

“I can hear you two,” Laura yelled. The desk chair Laura was sitting swiveled around to face them. “And if you’re done talking behind my back, literally, I have something I need to show you.” 

“What is it Cupcake?” Carmilla asked. Lord knew what Laura could cook up with an unlimited supply of caffeine to her bloodstream and ten hours. Laura tapped frantically at the keyboard until a picture appeared. It was a mug shot with the criminal record behind it. 

“What’s important about Lucas Brentswood?” Danny asked, scrunching her face up at the picture. 

“He was the shooter,” Carmilla answered, looking to Laura for more answers. 

A few more clicks, and a picture of Lucas popped up. This time they were old newspaper headlines. Their titles were along the lines of “cult recruiter” and “satanic church leader”.  
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Danny said. 

“Lucas was a part of the original group that burned the pentagram in the high school football field. And it looks like he’s been busy since then.” Laura’s smile was smug as ever, and Carmilla. Well Carmilla couldn’t stop staring at the stupid smile on her partner’s face. And all she could think about was how it was the damn near the cutest thing she’d ever seen.


End file.
